The first few years of my family living in the US, we were really poor. My dad had a post doctorate position that paid very little. My mom didn't work. Since my dad was on a visiting scholar visa, we didn't qualify for any government assistance. McDonald was a luxury for us. We would buy vegetables, meat on sale from various ethnic grocers or Walmart. We ate a lot of chicken legs and green bell pepper. Ice cream and chocolate were only rare treats. Honestly, I still think being fat is a sign of excess. You just simply cannot get fat if you don't have money. I hate hearing excuses like "I am fat because I cannot afford vegetables".