Food swamp

Urban environment with unhealthy food options

A food swamp is an urban environment with few grocery stores but several non-nutritious food options such as corner stores or fast-food restaurants. One definition gives a general ratio of four unhealthy options for each healthy option. The term was first coined by researchers conducting longitudinal studies of the link between increased access to grocery stores and rising obesity rates. Rose and colleagues in this study found that even with a new access to local grocery stores, the proportion of convenience stores and fast food to a single grocery store did not shift food choices nor obesity rates. This indicates that food swamps are separate from food deserts.

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