Is Obesity More Common in Low Income Areas?

A New Paper Explores A Neighborhood's Effect on Obesity

March 5, 2008 at 12:00PM by Marion Nestle | comment

Obesity is more common in low-income areas. Why? It may seem intuitively obvious that lack of adequate income, transportation, cooking facilities, supermarkets, and opportunities for physical activity would make it difficult for people to eat healthfully and be active, but inituition is one thing and evidence is another.

My NYU colleagues Jennifer Black and James Macinko now provide the evidence in a most useful review paper. Want to improve the “built environment”? This is a great starting place.

comment

tags: marion nestle, what to eat, nutrition

Marion Nestle

Noted author Marion Nestle is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of What to Eat.
read full bio.

see all posts by this author