Re:U.S. life expectancy varies by more than 20 years from co...
by bluedino on Monday May 08, 2017 @04:37PM
(#14295367)
It's not the store, it's the shopper.
The city I live in is supposedly a food desert but there are 6 grocery stores in the zip code that supposedly has none. They are huge chains like Kroger but they have everything you could imagine.
But even when I'm at Kroger or Meijer, people have carts full of frozen food, sugary drinks and snacks, etc. No fresh produce, no staples, etc.
I've bought groceries from the same few places for 7 years or more. It seems obvious that people buy food 90% of the time from the 5-10 places closest to them geographically. I live in a good area and they have good food.
But if my choices were all cheap soda and snacks like I see in other places, I imagine that would have a very concrete effect on my health. A few extra calories or a few more food adulterants every meal, every day, for 7 years or 20 years really adds up.
It seems extremely unlikely that there's no consequence of the food choices of your nearby grocery, so I'm glad that someone is measuring that effect.