WAIT, SO ALL THAT “FOOD DESERT” TALK WAS JUST A BUNCH OF CRAP? Studies Question the Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity.

It has become an article of faith among some policy makers and advocates, including Michelle Obama, that poor urban neighborhoods are food deserts, bereft of fresh fruits and vegetables.

But two new studies have found something unexpected. Such neighborhoods not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents.

Huh. And I thought the social science was settled.