Fat Valley: Fast food is king in Central Valley says study

DAVIS
January 19, 2007 7:09am

You’re four times more likely to find fast food than a grocery or produce store in California, according to an analysis of the distribution of retail food outlets in large cities and counties throughout the state, released Friday by the Davis-based California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which describes itself as an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization studying the problem of obesity.

“Ready access to healthy foods like fruits and vegetables is critical to Californians struggling to address the state’s out of control obesity crisis,” says Harold Goldstein, executive director of CCPHA. “Sadly, fast-food outlets and convenience stores far outnumber healthier food outlets in major cities and counties throughout California, making the hunt for nutritious options a daunting challenge.”

Statewide, California is home to 14,823 fast-food restaurants and 6,659 convenience stores. By contrast, the state has 3,853 supermarkets and 1,292 produce stands, including farmers’ markets.

“There is growing evidence that a community’s food landscape has a potent influence on the health of its residents,” says Mr. Goldstein in explaining the value of the study. “For the first time, California cities and counties have a way to compare their communities with others in the state.”

San Bernardino County, home to America’s first McDonald’s, had the distinction of having the highest ratio among California counties at 5.72.

Central Valley counties with more than five times the number of fast food options as healthy options include:

• Sacramento (5.66),

• Fresno (5.34),

• Kern (4.87)

• Stanislaus (4.79)

• Tulare (4.42)

• San Joaquin (4.03)

Santa Cruz County recorded the state’s lowest ratio of 1.84.

Of the 13 cities analyzed, two -- Bakersfield at 6.63 and Fresno at 6.23 -- have at least six times the number of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as supermarkets and produce vendors, and two (Long Beach at 5.80 and Riverside at 5.58) have at least five times the number.

Other Central Valley cities and their fast food-healthy food rations:

• Sacramento (4.97)

• Stockton (4.73)

Only two large cities have retail food environment indices less than the statewide average: Oakland (3.81) and San Francisco (3.85).

More than half of all California adults are now obese or overweight, the report says. Adult obesity rates in the state have more than doubled since 1990, when about 10 percent of the state’s population was considered medically obese, it says. By 2003, that number was over 20 percent — almost 4.5 million California men and women (ages 20–69).