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GUEST: Dr. Harold Goldstein, Executive Director of California Center for Public Health Advocacy

A new study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy has found that healthy food choices are hard to come by in the state. Searching for Healthy Food concluded that there are more than four times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as supermarkets and produce vendors in Californian cities. The result is summarized in what is called the Retail Food Environment Index – a ratio of fast food outlets to healthy food outlets. Overall, the state of California has a RFEI of 4.18. Two counties (San Bernardino and Sacramento), and two cities (Bakersfield and Fresno), had nearly six times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as supermarkets and produce vendors. Given the strong links between fast food and obesity, these numbers spell bad news for the health of Californians.

For more information about this study, visit: http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/searchingforhealthyfood.html