Siting markets in ‘food deserts’ no quick cure for obesity, study says

March 7, 2014

By Melissa Healy The logic seems simple enough: The consumption of healthy foods is low and obesity is high in neighborhoods where supermarkets are notably absent; so, opening supermarkets in those neighborhoods should boost consumption of healthier foods and drive down obesity. Right? Not...

Healthy food rarely convenient for urban minorities

November 6, 2013

By Valerie Debenedette Despite the prevalence of corner and convenience stores in urban neighborhoods, many residents have to travel farther to find supermarkets that offer a wide variety of healthful food choices, finds a new study in the American Journal of...

There’s more to ending childhood obesity than ‘Eat Less, Walk More’

July 16, 2013

By Ross Brenneman The American Heart Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation held a joint conference in Washington yesterday about fighting obesity in America. The conference, "Signs of Progress," highlighted 11 areas in the United States with declining obesity rates,...

Philadelphia School District reports progress in reducing childhood obesity rates

September 7, 2012

Sept. 6, 2012, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The overall obesity rate among Philadelphia schoolchildren fell more than 4.5 percent between the 2006-07 and 2009-10 school years, according to a study published today in Preventing Chronic Disease. The decrease, from an obesity rate...