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June 19, 2003
obesity research
Here's my latest scheme for local civic work, connected to the Prince George's Information Commons. We would train young people to rate local food sources (both shops and restaurants) for healthiness. We would then generate an online map of the healthiest places in the community to buy food. This map would be our direct public service. Meanwhile, we would use the data in combination with local health statistics to test these hypotheses:
- It is good for your health to live near a source of healthy food.
- It is bad for your health to live near a source of unhealthy food.
- It is bad for your health to live near no food sources (because then you have to drive and don't get exercise).
No doubt, healthy food outlets tend to locate near healthy populations, so we'd have to be careful before drawing the conclusion that the presence of a health-food store explains the good health of its neighborhood. But with the appropriate statistical controls, we might discover that the availability of various kinds of food does matter for health—and that would be useful for planners to know.
Posted by peterlevine at June 19, 2003 03:17 PM
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