Food Desert and Obesity

According to Schafft, Jensen, and Hinrich (2009) stated, the concept of the food desert, which is an area with limited access to full-service grocery stores, “has increasingly been used within social scientific and public health research to explore the dimensions of spatial inequality and community well-being.” (p.158). Various researches have been done respecting the relationship between food desert and the level of poverty. However, little researches have been conducted to examine the connection between food deserts and obesity. In article, Food Deserts and Overweight Schoolchildren: Evidence from Pennsylvania, Schafft, Jensen, and Hinrich (2009) have found a positive correlation between increased rates of child overweight and the percentage of the district population residing in a food desert in Pennsylvania. The access to retail food store has not only indicated the level of poverty of an area but also exposed the health issue in that area. People are getting overweight with their non-nutritional diet from fast food restaurants. In the same article, the authors have found that by introducing even just a food outlet store within the area could have positive impact on people’s diets, which would lead to a healthier diet. (2009)

Interestingly, upon another research in UK, Glanville (2001) emphasized that, “in Europe, the poor are not necessarily poor in food.” There are some people who live close to grocery store, yet live in a life style as they were living in a food desert. A reason Glanville pointed out was that healthy food is not the type some want to eat. Perhaps due to the convenience of the fast food restaurant, the uninformed nutrition status on fast food, or the ignorance to the difference between healthy and unhealthy food, some have chosen a life style as living in food desert, even though they are not in one. This has enlarged the problem of obesity worldwide.



by Peichen Su



References:

Glanville, J. (2001, June 25). How to survive in a food desert. New Statesman, 130(4543), 26.

Schafft, K., Jensen, E., & Hinrichs, C. (2009, June). Food Deserts and Overweight Schoolchildren: Evidence from Pennsylvania. Rural Sociology, 74(2), 153.

Benefits

We all know that there are severe repercussions to living in a food desert regard to one’s health, but it seems that they are dismissed or forgotten because those living in a food deserts simply do not have the time to think or afford healthy eating. Not only are there severe health problems associated with eating a lot of fast food and convenience store foods that include obesity and heart problems there are huge benefits and definitely are incentives for eating healthy and hopefully convince those living in food deserts to act which will provide incentive for local markets, farmer’s markets and other places that provide fresh produce and provide the foods necessary for healthy eating.

A list of benefits to eating healthy are:
1. Longer life: Research shows that people that eat healthy and lay off the fast food are typically less prone to illness and disease resulting in a longer life.
2. Vitality: Healthier foods give off the vitamins, minerals, fiber and are typically lower in fat and cholesterol and thus give a person more energy for his or her day. And
3. Lose weight: Healthy foods are typically less fat and calories than those fast food and convenience stores buys and in taking less calories does equal a slimmer waist line.

This is just a short list and the benefits are definitely not limited to them and in fact the list could simply go on and on, but you all get the picture. Food deserts are a severe problem and can be remedied and would definitely help out the lives of loads of people.

resources:

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Benefits-of-Healthy-Eating&id=42722
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/tc/healthy-eating-overview

-Maria David

Interview with The Tennessean on communities in Nashville without grocery stores:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6C0CpzYqrI&feature=related


-Zephyr Anthony

A class project documenting food deserts in Charlottesville, with interviews:

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQvRPkORoAw

part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYXr8yF4YSA&feature=related


-Zephyr Anthony

A motivating example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydrALNfsm6o

Peak Moment 106: Patrick Marcus and other motivated citizens sprouted a community garden on city land slated to be a park in Ashland, Oregon. When the garden was threatened by plans to develop the park, they got active. Their research and advocacy led to official policy supporting community gardens in city parks. As the volunteer garden manager, Patrick affirms gardening isn't just for leisure -- it helps build community. It creates bonds among people from diverse social spheres -- through shared work, classes, potlucks and, most of all, shared passion. [www.communitygarden.org]

-Zephyr Anthony

This short documentary chronicles the regular practices and annual plant sale of a community garden in Austin, TX.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRZ0rnCNONM

-Zephyr Anthony

Portland's Food Deserts

According to a research paper entitled "Finding Food Deserts: Methodology and Measurement of Food Access in Portland, Oregon" prepared for the National Poverty Center among other organizations, low income areas in Portland actually, in terms of distance, have more access to food. The higher poverty rates tend to live closer to areas where food is more accessible. In other words, where there is access to food, those living in poverty tend to live very close. This does, of course, leave others living in poverty on the fringes and so many living in poverty still cannot easily access food. But it also means that the majority of those living in poverty tend to have better access to food. In other, more average-income areas of Portland, the location of grocery stores tend to be much further away. While the stores are much further away, however, the people living in these areas have more access to the stores in terms of modes of transportation. Another subject discussed is the ability of the elderly to access food. According to this paper, 60 percent of those that are carless and living in the fringe of high population poverty areas are the elderly (16). Being carless and finding it physically difficult to travel, makes the elderly the most prone to food deserts. This study of Portland shows that food deserts are far more complicated than first imagined. Food deserts cannot be measured simply by relating poverty rates to distance to food. There are more factors involved such as age, mode of transportation, income, and location.

-Kyla Tom

www.npc.umich.edu/news/events/food-access/sparks_et_al.pdf