health disparities

Avatar of Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

by Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

Healthy Food Availability Could Depend on Where You Live—So Does the Quality of Your Diet

February 25, 2009 in News

Public Health News Center. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. February 25, 2009. This article discusses two studies about the public health impacts of neighborhoods, including dietary impact. The studies, conducted in Baltimore, found that availability of healthy food was associated with quality of diet, and that lower-income, African-American neighborhoods didn’t have as good access to healthy food as white, higher-income neighborhoods, resulting in poorer health outcomes.

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Avatar of Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

by Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

Neighborhood Characteristics and Availability of Healthy Foods in Baltimore

January 1, 2008 in Reports

 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Manuel Franco et al. 2008. 35(6): 561-567. Researchers in Baltimore studied the availability of healthy foods in different parts of the city, using a healthy food availability index. Neighborhoods that are predominantly African-American and lower-income had less availability of healthy foods than white and higher-income neighborhoods.

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Avatar of Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

by Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

Beyond Food Deserts: Measuring and Mapping Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments

January 1, 2008 in Reports

Journal Of Planning Education And Research, Samina Raja et al. 2008. 27(4): 469-482. Researchers in Erie County, New York found that white neighborhoods had more grocery stores than neighborhoods of color. They also found extensive networks of small grocery stores in these neighborhoods, and suggested using these existing stores to get more healthy food into the neighborhoods.

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Avatar of Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

by Liz Simmons, Community Food Security Coalition

Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes

January 1, 2008 in Reports

By Susan H. Babey, et al., 2008. This study, released by PolicyLink, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, examines the relationships between retail food environments, obesity and diabetes, and community income. The study demonstrates that people who live near an abundance of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores, compared to grocery stores and fresh produce vendors, have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes. The study concludes that the highest rates of obesity and diabetes are among people who live in lower-income communities and have worse food environments.

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