Consequences

Better access to a supermarket or large grocery store is associated with healthier food intakes (Larson et al., 2009) where as "studies have found that greater availability of fast food restaurants and lower prices of fast food restaurant items are related to poorer diet." Poor diet leads to poor health.  In Columbus, the Department of Public Health has found that areas with poor access to healthful foods suffer from the following nutritional consequences:

• Heart Disease
• Increased risk for some types of cancer
• Obesity  - "Diet is a major determinant of BMI and obesity status, and it is also a factor in risks of such diseases as diabetes and cardiovascular disease" -USDA 2008 study
• Complications in pregnancy
• High Blood Pressure
• Improper growth and development of children

These findings were upheld by a study that the USDA performed in conjunction with the National Poverty Center across the United States. This study concluded that "people who live in areas with limited access may be more prone to poor diets and have poor health outcomes, such as obesity or diabetes, because they lack access to healthy foods and may have too easy access to less healthy foods."

And these health consequences don't just effect the residence of food deserts - they have an effect on all of us. For instance, according to the USDA's report of Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food, the U.S. loses $150 billion per year, due to obesity related healthcare costs. The health of these citizens has an effect on us, as well as them and improving our nations health will in turn improve our nations economy, by cutting some of these extraneous costs.

Ohio . Columbus Public Health Department. Mapping Food Access. By Richard Hicks.
     Columbus Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
     <http://publichealth.columbus.gov/>.  
United States. Department of Agriculture. Access to Affordable and Nutritious
     Food. Economic Research Service. USDA, June 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2011.
     <http://www.ers.usda.gov>.