Food Options

Variety of colorful fruits at farmers market.

Inadequate nutrition is associated with chronic diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stress, cancer, diabetes, low birth weight, obesity, and anemia. A significant contributor to dietary quality lies in access to healthy foods at a reasonable cost. In terms of the built environment, a key question is whether people who live closer to stores and restaurants—particularly those with healthier options—eat better than those who live further away? Little research has looked directly at this issue and the research shows stronger links between access to supermarkets and healthy eating than access to fast food and its opposite.

Health and Places Initiative (HAPI) Research Brief

Food Options, Health, and Place [PDF]

External Resources

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Large bunch of carrots on wagon.
Variety of vegetables and roots at outdoor market.
Freshly grown lettuce still in the ground.