Discuss the importance of proximity to healthy food and the concept of a "food desert"

Our surrounding food environment has a great influence on what we eat. People who live close to full-service grocery stores tend to eat healthier foods, including more fruits and vegetables, and have lower rates of obesity (Larson, Story, & Nelson, 2009). However, for a number of Americans, healthier food choices are not as accessible as less healthy choices. A "food desert" is a new term to describe a district with little or no access to large grocery stores that offer fresh and affordable foods needed to maintain a healthy diet. Food deserts disproportionately affect socially segregated groups in urban areas, specifically single mothers, children, and the elderly living in underprivileged urban neighborhoods. Sometimes such a food desert occurs when there has been an exodus of middle-class residents and grocery stores have either closed or relocated as well. In such places, local food choices are often restricted to inexpensive, high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods, and the local environment has been termed "obesogenic."?