Availability of fresh food, exercise linked to healthy living

I guess the saying “you are what you eat” really is true because if you do eat unhealthy foods like fast food all the time it will effect your health. The article stated that neighborhoods consisting of black people had twice the amount of fast food restaurants than in white neighborhoods. It also said that since there were more fast food restaurants that the people in the black neighborhoods were more likely to become obese or develop serious health problems, such as heart disease or cancers. Another issue was location, if there isn’t grocery store or farmer’s markets nearby then the people in that neighborhood just eat what is the most accessible to them. Sometimes the most accessible foods aren’t the healthiest choice out there. If you grew up next to a vendor of fruits and vegetables then you are probably more likely to eat healthier as an adult. Some people also don’t like to buy sustainable foods because of the cost of the foods. Why would someone want to buy expensive but healthy fruits and vegetables when they can get unhealthy foods cheaper from fast food restaurants and other unhealthy foods from grocery stores? I also believe that what you eat growing up as a kid influences what you eat as an adult. If you grew up eating healthy meals together with your family, chances are that you are going to keep eating these types of foods as an adult. On the other hand, if you grew up eating at fast food restaurants and not eating lots of fruits and vegetables then you aren’t going to start eating healthy when you are an adult on your own. If every neighborhood had access to fresh produce that was reasonably priced, I think that our society as a whole would be better off, and then it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if “you are what you eat.”