The food desert concept is used as a means for defining regions as having inadequate spatial and socioeconomic access to vendors selling nutritious foods. This primarily aggregate-level and static method for understanding the food environment is commonly used by researchers and policy makers seeking to improve health outcomes of those affected by reduced access. However, recent research findings have brought the association between living in a food desert and adverse health outcomes into question. In this viewpoint, we put forward the idea that the food desert concept, and food accessibility research more generally, should be expanded to include a temporal component, and note potential avenues for future research.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.07.011 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
January 2025
Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
Background/objectives: Food deserts are areas characterized by limited access to affordable and healthy food, often due to significant distances from supermarkets-exceeding 1.6 km in urban areas and 16 km in rural settings. These spatial limitations exacerbate health and socioeconomic disparities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Invasive Alien Species in Agriculture & Forestry of the North-Western Desert Oasis, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Agronomy, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China.
Cadmium in agricultural soils has emerged as a substantial threat to crop health and yields through its bioaccumulation along the food chain, with further repercussions for the growth, development, and population dynamics of herbivorous insects. In this study, potted potato plants were treated with Cd solutions at concentrations of 0 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg, 90 mg/kg, and 120 mg/kg. Colorado potato beetles () were fed on potato leaves exposed to these varying concentrations of cadmium, and the effects on their growth and development were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Microbiol
January 2025
Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China.
Soil fungi are essential to ecosystem processes, yet their elevational distribution patterns and the ecological mechanisms shaping their communities remain poorly understood and actively debated, particularly in arid regions. Here, we investigated the diversity patterns and underlying mechanisms shaping soil fungal communities along an elevational gradient (1,707-3,548 m) on the northern slope of the Central Kunlun Mountains in northwest China. Results indicated that the dominant phyla identified across the seven elevational gradients were and , displaying a unimodal pattern and a U-shaped pattern in relative abundance, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Faculty of Geosciences and Environmental Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China.
The "food desert" problem has been treated under a national strategy in the United States and other countries. At present, there is little research on the phenomenon of "food desert" in China. This study takes Shanghai as the research area and proposes a multiscale analysis method using a linear tessellation model that splits the street network into homogeneous linear units.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Tylosema esculentum (marama bean), an underutilized orphan legume native to southern Africa, holds significant potential for domestication as a rescue crop to enhance local food security. Well-adapted to harsh desert environments, it offers valuable insights into plant resilience to extreme drought and high temperatures. In this study, k-mer analysis indicated marama as an ancient allotetraploid legume.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!