Obesity and the Food Environment
Some communities have particularly high, concentrated obesity levels—nutrition experts call these obesogenic environments. Such environments are not confined to low-income areas, but they are more common there. Where there’s a scarcity of full-service food outlets such as supermarkets, there are also fewer healthy food choices. A lack of places to shop is combined with a large number of fast food outlets—also common in low-income communities.
Fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods tend to be more expensive than low-nutrient, calorie-dense processed foods. Low-income households are by definition those with fewer resources to spend on food, so healthy food choices are often simply out of reach. Buying less healthy food is dictated by economic conditions in the community. Food retailers in low-income communities understand this dynamic and select the products they will carry accordingly.
Nutrition programs help to bridge access gaps; for example, SNAP boosts the purchasing power of eligible households. But participants who live in low-income communities still face the problem of finding places to shop that carry a broad selection of healthy foods.
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