\n\n\n" }It has become an article of faith among some policy makers and advocates, including Michelle Obama, that poor urban neighborhoods are food deserts, bereft of fresh fruits and vegetables.
\nBut two new studies have found something unexpected. Such neighborhoods not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents.
\nWithin a couple of miles of almost any urban neighborhood, \u00e2\u0080\u009cyou can get basically any type of food,\u00e2\u0080\u009d said Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, lead author of one of the studies. \u00e2\u0080\u009cMaybe we should call it a food swamp rather than a desert,\u00e2\u0080\u009d he said.
\nSome experts say these new findings raise questions about the effectiveness of efforts to combat the obesity epidemic simply by improving access to healthy foods. Despite campaigns to get Americans to exercise more and eat healthier foods, obesity rates have not budged over the past decade, according to recently released federal data.
\n\u00e2\u0080\u009cIt is always easy to advocate for more grocery stores,\u00e2\u0080\u009d said Kelly D. Brownell, director of Yale University\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, who was not involved in the studies. \u00e2\u0080\u009cBut if you are looking for what you hope will change obesity, healthy food access is probably just wishful thinking.\u00e2\u0080\u009d
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