Neighborhood Environment and Childhood Nutrition - Policy Report From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
A dramatic increase in children being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes- a disease commonly seen in adults has caused great alarm for nutritionists, doctors, nurses and social workers throughout the country. More specifically, more children from low income families are affected and their numbers continue to grow. In order to ensure the health and overall well-being of children, especially those from low to working poor families, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation conducted a study to examine the relationship between the neighborhood environment and children and their families eating habits. The study points out that low and working poor families reside in neighborhoods where healthy food is difficult to obtain and/or more costly than in comparable suburban neighborhoods. In addition, it finds that more children eat their meals and snacks, not at home, but at school and/or after-care programs.
Highlights of the report:
- A landmark 2002 study by Moreland et al. based on more than 10,000 residents in 221 census tracts (from Maryland, North Carolina, Mississippi and Minnesota) shows a link between where people live and what they eat. The authors found that African-American residents increased their fruit and vegetable consumption by an average of 32 percent for each supermarket in their census tract. Although 73 percent of African-American residents had small neighborhood grocery stores in their neighborhoods, these establishments had little association with nutritious diets.
- A 2006 study in St. Louis found that both, residents in high poverty areas and predominantly African-American areas (regardless of income) were less likely than primarily white, higher-income communities to have access to healthy food options.
- In another study, the fruit and vegetable consumption of low-income women living in Detroit was lower for those who shopped in independent grocery stores compared with those who shopped in supermarkets and specialty shops.
- Low-income shoppers frequently face long walks, laden with groceries and small children, between their homes, bus stops and food stores. Although low-income families do shop at supermarkets, they average one trip per month, compared with an average of 2.2 weekly trips for the general population in 2002.49, 50 It is the forced dependency of many low-income families on public transit for supermarket shopping trips that causes the purchase of groceries and especially perishable foods to be less frequent. Lack of transportation further limits the ability to shop in bulk, translating into higher prices paid per item.
- A small-scale study conducted by the Hartford Food System in Connecticut found fast-food restaurants to be more concentrated in the lower-income city of Hartford, with Hartford housing 44 percent of all fast-food establishments in the immediate area. A study mapping environmental factors in six ethnic-specific communities found that neighborhoods that tended to be predominantly low- or lower-income typically were within half a mile from a fast-food outlet, and in many cases, residents of those neighborhoods were within a short walk to the nearest fast-food outlet.
- Similarly, a study of fast-food restaurants in New Orleans, showed that fast-food restaurant density was independently correlated with median household income and percentage of African-American residents in the census tract.
For more information on how to obtain the report, call (877) 843-RWJF (7953).