CHICAGO — The recession is busting wallets and bursting waistlines as U.S. consumers shift their eating habits to better balance their budgets.

As the unemployment rate inches toward 10 percent and consumers find themselves increasingly strapped, they are turning to cheap but effective means to fill their families' tummies. And those who do have jobs are working longer hours, forgoing exercise and searching for foods that are not only economical but convenient.

As a result, more consumers are turning to processed foods, either already prepared, frozen or canned and typically filled with fat-generating calories, refined grains and sugars. That's making more Americans chubbier and prone to obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes in what has been dubbed "recession fat."

"Eating healthy has been one of the big casualties of this economic downturn," says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group and author of the research company's annual Eating Patterns in America report. "Last year consumers cut back on eating 'better-for-you' and organic foods."

The culprit is cost. Some 70 percent of respondents to a recent Technomic Inc. survey said healthier foods are increasingly difficult to afford.

"People are attempting to economize, especially away from home," says Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Technomic. "Value is what counts to consumers right now and unfortunately, in the minds of many consumers, a lot of these lower-priced options are just not as healthy but they're still buying them."

Meanwhile, the U.S. has become a nation of snackers. Taking a divide-and-con-quer approach to eating, consumers are turning to more affordable grab-and-go alternatives like chips, cookies, candy and now snack wraps and mini-burgers in between meals and often in lieu of a meal, according to a number of recent studies.

Mintel, the market research firm, is tracking double-digit sales gains for salty snacks as well as popcorn and cheese snacks this year. Potato chip sales are up 22 percent this year compared with 2007 while tortilla chips sales are rising 18 percent.

"Snacks are less and less the hunger-soothing bridge between formal meals," said Kimberly Egan, chief executive of the Center for Culinary Development. "They have become valuable gastronomical events in their own right."

As the struggling restaurant industry can attest, more and more consumers are eating at home. But here's the catch: Most are not actually making anything. They're microwaving frozen pizza or mixing pancake batter with water. They're bringing home fast food and serving it in pretty dishes as a meal.

NPD Group has been following the microwaving habits of Americans for nearly two decades and was struck by the notable change this year that it attributes to the troubled economy.

"Approximately 20 percent of all meals prepared in our homes from 1990 to 2007 involved the use of a microwave — until last year when usage rose 10 percent," Balzer says.