Poverty and Obesity

South Bronx's obesity woes associated with food insecurity.
The New York Times (3/14, MB4, Dolnick) reported that a survey by the Food Research and Action Center reveals that "the most severe hunger-related problems in the nation are in the South Bronx, long one of the country's capitals of obesity." In fact, "nearly 37 percent of residents in the 16th Congressional District...said they lacked money to buy food at some point in the past 12 months," a figure that is "twice the national average." Findings like these "present a different way to look at hunger: not starving, but 'food insecure,'" meaning that some people may be "unable to afford the basics, unable to get to the grocery, or unable to find fresh produce among the pizza shops, doughnut stores, and fried-everything restaurants."