Editing Urbanization (section)

===Nutrition===
Traditionally, rural populations have tended to eat plant-based diets rich in grains, fruits and vegetables, and with low fat content. However, rural people migrating to urban areas often shift towards diets that rely more on processed foods characterized by a higher content of meat, sugars, refined grains and fats. Urban residents typically have reduced time available for at-home food preparation combined with increased disposable income, facilitating access to convenience foods and ready-to-eat meals.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd0683en |title=The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 |date=2024-06-07 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-138763-4 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cd0683en}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref>

One such effect is the formation of [[food desert]]s. Nearly 23.5 million people in the United States lack access to supermarkets within one mile of their home.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Block|first1=Jason P.|last2=Subramanian|first2=S. V.|date=2015-12-08
|title=Moving Beyond "Food Deserts": Reorienting United States Policies to Reduce Disparities in Diet Quality|journal=PLOS Medicine|volume=12|issue=12|pages=e1001914|doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001914|pmid=26645285|pmc=4672916|issn=1549-1676 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Several studies suggest that long distances to a grocery store are associated with higher rates of obesity and other health disparities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Ghosh-Dastidar|first1=Bonnie|last2=Cohen|first2=Deborah|last3=Hunter|first3=Gerald|last4=Zenk|first4=Shannon N.|last5=Huang|first5=Christina|last6=Beckman|first6=Robin|last7=Dubowitz|first7=Tamara|date=2014|title=Distance to Store, Food Prices, and Obesity in Urban Food Deserts | journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine|volume=47|issue=5|pages=587–595 | doi = 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.07.005 | pmc = 4205193 | pmid = 25217097 }}</ref>

Food deserts in developed countries often correspond to areas with a high density of fast food chains and convenience stores that offer little to no fresh food.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cooksey-Stowers|first1=Kristen|last2=Schwartz|first2=Marlene B.|last3=Brownell|first3=Kelly D.|date=2017-11-14|title=Food Swamps Predict Obesity Rates Better Than Food Deserts in the United States | journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health|volume=14|issue=11|pages=1366|doi=10.3390/ijerph14111366|pmc=5708005|pmid=29135909|doi-access=free}}</ref> Urbanization has been shown to be associated with the consumption of less fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and a higher consumption of processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages.<ref name=":3" /> Poor access to healthy food and high intakes of fat, sugar and salt are associated with a greater risk for obesity, diabetes and related chronic disease. Overall, [[body mass index]] and [[cholesterol]] levels increase sharply with national income and the degree of urbanization.[[Urbanization#cite note-Allender-2008-40|[40]]]

Food deserts in the United States are most commonly found in low-income and predominately African American neighbourhoods.<ref name=":3" /> One study on food deserts in [[Denver]], Colorado found that, in addition to minorities, the affected neighbourhoods also had a high proportion of children and new births.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Stilley |first=Megan |institution=The University of Colorado at Denver |title=Urban food deserts: An exploration of northern neighbourhoods in Denver |date=2012 |number=1509386 |id={{ProQuest|1013635534}}}}</ref> In children, urbanization is associated with a lower risk of [[Undernutrition|under-nutrition]] but a higher risk of being [[overweight]].<ref name="Eckert-2014" />