Higher- versus lower-income, predominantly Black and racially mixed versus predominantly white, and Hispanic versus non-Hispanic neighborhoods had fewer available full-service and fast-food restaurants. This disparity in restaurant availability raises important questions about the role of neighborhood demographics in shaping food access and potentially contributing to health disparities.
Near-low- and middle-income neighborhoods had the highest concentration of restaurants, with 1.24 and 1.22 times the number of full-service restaurants and 1.34 and 1.28 times the number of fast-food restaurants compared to high-income neighborhoods. This suggests that income plays a significant role in determining the density of restaurant options within a community.
Predominantly Black neighborhoods had significantly fewer restaurant options compared to predominantly white neighborhoods, with only 58.2% and 59.3% of the number of full-service and fast-food restaurants, respectively. This stark difference highlights a potential racial disparity in access to dining establishments.
While no statistically significant differences were found in the relative availability of fast-food versus full-service restaurants by income, race, or ethnicity at the national level, focusing on urban areas revealed a different pattern. In urban settings, near-low-, middle-, and near-high-income neighborhoods, as well as predominantly Black neighborhoods, had moderately higher proportions of fast-food restaurants compared to high-income and predominantly white neighborhoods. This urban-specific finding suggests that Fast Food And neighborhood demographics are intricately linked in urban environments. This concentration of fast-food establishments in certain demographic areas might be contributing to observed health disparities, particularly concerning obesity rates. Further research is needed to explore the complex interplay between fast food availability, socioeconomic factors, and health outcomes.
