A new study out of UCLA finds that even when you control for race, income, and ethnicity, when fast food restaurants and convenience stores outnumber grocery stores and produce vendors, the community is heavier and exhibits higher rates of diabetes. The average Californian, they found, lives in an area where fast food and convenience stores outnumbers produce vendors and grocers by 4-to-1. When that ratio hits 5-to-1, obesity and diabetes rates are 20 percent higher than in areas where the ratio is 3-to-1. It's not the most shocking finding in the world, but it's a continuing reminder that environment matters, and ill-health is, in many cases, the predictable result of having to choose between largely bad options.(Image used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Scott Ableman.) "A FAST FOOD JUNGLE."
A new study out of UCLA finds that even when you control for race, income, and ethnicity, when fast food restaurants and convenience stores outnumber grocery stores and produce vendors, the community is heavier and exhibits higher rates of diabetes. The average Californian, they found, lives in an area where fast food and convenience stores outnumbers produce vendors and grocers by 4-to-1. When that ratio hits 5-to-1, obesity and diabetes rates are 20 percent higher than in areas where the ratio is 3-to-1. It's not the most shocking finding in the world, but it's a continuing reminder that environment matters, and ill-health is, in many cases, the predictable result of having to choose between largely bad options.(Image used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Scott Ableman.) 
