Module 4: "Lunch or Junk?" and "Food Deserts"

But Haley feels discouraged. “I use four of five napkins just trying to get the grease off the pizza,” she says. “Where are the healthy options?”

“Children are already consuming too much junk food,” says Jen Keller, a dietitian at the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.

It’s not that health experts want to deprive kids of foods they like best. They just want to help kids avoid many of the health problems that come with eating large quantities of unhealthful food.

Poor diet and obesity can cause diseases like type-2 diabetes, which can lead to blindness and kidney problems.

As of a few years ago, this disease was so rare in children that it was called “adult onset diabetes.”

“The junk food is tempting,” says 10-year-old Tim.

Nutrition took a backseat to price and convenience.

Most people in the United States are able to buy groceries at supermarkets that are stocked with a wide variety of healthy options.

Lower-income and urban neighborhoods, especially those with a large minority population, tend to have many small corner stores and very few supermarkets, points out Dr. Manuel Franco, a food environment researcher.

Research shows that those who live in a neighborhood with a greater availability of small corner stores are more likely to be obese, which raises the risk of diabetes and other diet-related diseases.