Discoveries

Availability of Healthy Foods Leads to Healthy Diets

This paper investigates whether healthy food availability in neighborhoods is related to the diet of residents. We surveyed food stores in the neighborhoods of Baltimore MESA participants. The healthy food availability at different food stores was characterized using a special survey. People living in areas with better food availability had better diets. Improving healthy food availability may be an important component of strategies to improve diet and prevent heart disease.

Franco M, Diez-Roux AV, Nettleton JA, Lazo M, Brancati F, Caballero B, Glass T, Moore LV. Availability of healthy foods and dietary patterns: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(3):897-904