Is Dessert Really Necessary?

Food desserts have become a hot topic around the country, with health and policy experts seeing them as a contributor to the epidemic of obesity and its accompanying health problems, including high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes.

Those issues are particularly critical in Alabama, which ranks second in the country for obesity and fourth for diabetes, according to the state health department. And while health experts are constantly pushing the message of healthy eating, 77 percent of Alabama adults and 85 percent of high school students don't get five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, according to an Alabama Department of Public Health report.

Low-income and minority residents are the most likely to be obese, according to the health department. Some of that may be because of cultural choices or not having money to spend on healthy food, which is often more expensive than soda and fries.

But in some cases, it has gotten harder to find healthy options, especially in inner-city neighborhoods where food stores have closed. For example, the one grocery store in the Pratt community, a Food Fair on U.S. 78, now stands empty, said community president Alonzo Darrow.

"A lot of people from north Birmingham would come to that store," Darrow said. "Now you will not find a grocery store until you get to Five Points West, and that's a long way away. So all those people who don't have a grocery store either have to get to Five Points West or they have to get to Forestdale."

More markets would help provide employment and keep residents from spending their money in other cities, said Mayor William Bell, who said he hears constantly from residents that they have no convenient place to shop. But, he said, the health factor is the biggest priority.

Healthy thinking produces healthy eating habits. Think about it. Obesity can be prevented. Is that dessert really necessary?