A food swamp with an abundance of unhealthy food options can be just as dangerous as a food desert.
By Kevin C. Nice | issued
Food swamps are areas teeming with convenience stores and fast food chains and the cheap, unhealthy food they provide that pose a health risk to the people who live there.As science alert According to the report, since the term was coined in the 1990s, there has been a great deal of concern about food deserts, areas without adequate options for eating healthy foods within walking distance. These phenomena are indeed significant health concerns that disproportionately affect low-income and communities of color.
But many of us have never heard of food swamps. It’s also an unhealthy place to live. A food swamp is defined as a place with more convenience stores and fast food options than a grocery store or farmer’s market without a supermarket within a mile radius. These regions tended to lie in the southern regions of the United States, which have the highest prevalence of chronic diseases such as lung, prostate, and colorectal disease, the researchers say. Breast cancer and other cancers.
The food swamp data were collected by Malcolm Seth Bevel and a team of researchers at the University of Augusta, Georgia, who study public health concerns. They collected 10-year statistics on public health by region and compared the results with the USDA Food Environment Atlas compiled during the same period, which includes data on local food service options by region. This information was then compared to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which records various health indicators, including cancer-related deaths.
Their study of food deserts and food wetlands covered 96.7% of the United States, including 3,038 counties. Their study found that deaths from obesity-related cancers (13 types covering 40% of cancers in the United States) are more common among blacks, older adults, and low-income households. They also found that this group was more prone to obesity and diabetes.
The study found that people who lived in food swamps were 30 percent more likely to die from obesity-related cancers. This means that lack of healthy food options clearly contributes to obesity, cancer and death, even after adjusting for poverty rate, age and ethnic background. People have long considered diet to be a controllable risk factor for cancer, but when there are no healthy options or too many unhealthy options, people are solely responsible for their eating habits. It is becoming increasingly clear that we are not indebted to
Regarding the findings of the study on food swamps and food deserts, Kareem Watson and Angela Odomus-Young, in a study commentary, suggested that a person’s ‘zip code and neighborhood’ could have an equally large impact on health outcomes. He writes that there is increasing evidence to suggest that their genetics. While there are certainly many factors at play in cancer and obesity in addition to nutrition, Watson and Odoms-Young said the study provides further insight into how food inequalities affect health. It clearly calls for research and efforts towards systemic change to address those inequalities.
But the study’s authors say eliminating food deserts and food wetlands involves more than just retail development, but also neighborhood infrastructure and regional planning. Neighborhoods that are more walkable and have easy access to resources are just as important as the resources themselves.
