Key takeaways

• Same plant, different story: how a potato is cooked and what goes on it changes how filling it is.
• In a classic satiety study, potato chips scored slightly below white bread, and boiled potatoes scored more than three times higher.
• Large studies link chips and fries to more weight gain over time than potatoes in general, but they can’t prove cause.

Same plant, different rap sheet. One is a side dish with the skin on. The other is a bag you finished during a TV show. Baked potato vs potato chips sounds like a trick question, but the research gives a fairly clear answer, with a few catches.

I went to the studies so you don’t have to. Some of what I found helps the potato. Some of it doesn’t. You get both.

Where I’m Coming From

I’m not here to put a food on the “bad” list and send you off in shame. I’ve spent more than five years teaching health classes in community churches, and I know the potato is affordable, familiar, and a fixture at many family tables. Telling people to “just avoid potatoes” is not a plan. Knowing what changes a potato is a plan.

In some cultures, the Potato is the meal’s staple, as rice is in others. Boiled, baked, mashed, or fried, for some families that’s the glue that holds the whole meal together. What’s a cookout without potato salad, or mashed potatoes and gravy, at a family gathering? Good, better, best- that is the test. Explanation and instruction can temper a well-meaning discussion about this dietary staple. Showing the benefits of a whole food over a bag of chips is worth the conversation. 

The Lineup: Baked Potato vs Potato Chips

A baked potato is a whole vegetable, cooked with heat, usually eaten with the skin on. Potato chips are potatoes that have been sliced thin, fried in oil, seasoned, and bagged. Under the NOVA system, which sorts foods by how much industrial processing they go through, chips typically sit in the ultra-processed group, while a plain baked potato does not. (New to that term? Read What Is Ultra-Processed Food?)

That difference isn’t just a label. It changes the texture, how fast you can eat it, and how much of it fits in your hand.

Which One Keeps You Full? The Satiety Evidence

In 1995, researchers at the University of Sydney fed volunteers 240-calorie portions of 38 different foods and measured how full they felt over the next two hours. White bread was the reference food, set at 100%. Boiled potatoes scored 323%, the highest of any food tested. Potato crisps (what Americans call chips) scored 91%, a little below white bread. French fries scored 116% (Holt et al., European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1995).

In the baked potato vs potato chips matchup, that’s a point for the potato. Two honest notes. First, that study tested boiled potatoes, not baked, so I can’t tell you a baked potato scored 323%. Second, it’s a 30-year-old study with a short follow-up. What it does show is that the same plant can sit at the top of the fullness chart or near the bottom, depending on how it’s prepared.

That matches what many of us have felt: you can finish a bag of chips and still feel like something is missing. It’s hard to say that about a plain potato.

What About Blood Sugar? The Glycemic Index Problem

Here’s where the potato’s defense gets weaker. The glycemic index (GI) ranks foods by how much they raise blood sugar compared with a reference food. In a study by Fernandes, Velangi and Wolever, a baked U.S. Russet potato had a GI of 77. Boiled red potatoes came in at 89, and instant mashed potatoes at 88. The authors described U.S. Russet potatoes as having “only a moderately high glycemic index” (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005).

The same study found something useful: boiled red potatoes that were cooked ahead and eaten cold had a GI of 56. Precooking and then eating cold or reheated potatoes lowered the blood sugar response in the study. If you live with diabetes or prediabetes, this is a conversation for your doctor or a registered dietitian, since a single food’s GI doesn’t tell the whole story of a meal.

What About Weight Over Time?

Now for the long view. A well-known study in the New England Journal of Medicine followed 120,877 U.S. health professionals for 4-year periods and looked at how changes in food choices related to weight changes. For each extra daily serving, potato chips were linked to about 1.69 pounds of additional weight gain over four years, French fries to about 3.35 pounds, and potatoes (boiled, baked, or mashed) to about 1.28 pounds (Mozaffarian et al., NEJM, June 2011).

Notice what that says: potatoes weren’t off the hook. But French fries and chips were linked to more weight gain than potatoes cooked other ways. This was observational research, so it can’t prove that the food caused the weight gain. People who eat a lot of chips may differ in other ways, too. The honest summary is a pattern, not a proof.

The Toppings Problem

This is where baked potatoes often lose the baked potato vs potato chips fight, and it has nothing to do with the potato. A plain baked potato and a loaded baked potato are two different foods. Heaps of butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon change the story.

Same detective logic applies to chips. Flavored varieties add seasonings and sometimes colors, which is a separate conversation (see Artificial Food Dyes and Kids). And the back-of-bag label tells you the serving size, which is usually smaller than the bag. If you need a refresher, the 60-second label guide will get you there.

And one more thing, because this isn’t just about willpower. What’s sold in your neighborhood, how much time you have, and what your budget allows all shape which potato ends up on the plate. That’s structural. (Read more in Food Deserts and Health Disparities.)

So What Now? Your Do-This-Week Steps

The baked potato vs potato chips question has a practical answer: it depends on the cooking and the toppings.

• Keep the skin on. A baked potato with the skin is a whole food with fiber, and it’s simple to make.
• Top it smart. Try plain yogurt, salsa, beans, or steamed vegetables in place of piles of butter and cheese.
• Try cook-ahead. If blood sugar is a concern for you, ask your doctor about cooling and reheating potatoes, since that lowered the glycemic response in one study.
• Portion the chips. If chips are your thing, put a serving in a bowl instead of eating from the bag.

Frequently Asked Questions

Baked potato vs potato chips: which is healthier?

A plain baked potato is a whole food and, in satiety research, potatoes scored far higher for fullness than chips. But toppings, portion size, and your own health needs matter. A loaded potato can look very different from a plain one.

What is the glycemic index of a baked potato?

In a 2005 study, a baked U.S. Russet potato had a glycemic index of 77, which the authors described as moderately high. Boiled red potatoes cooked ahead and eaten cold scored 56.

Do potato chips make you gain weight?

A large study of more than 120,000 people linked each extra daily serving of potato chips to about 1.69 pounds of weight gain over four years. Because it was observational, it shows a pattern, not proof of cause.

Which food is more filling, potatoes or chips?

In a 1995 satiety study, boiled potatoes scored 323% against white bread at 100%, while potato crisps scored 91%. That study tested boiled potatoes, not baked.

Are french fries worse than baked potatoes?

In the NEJM study, each daily serving of French fries was linked to about 3.35 pounds of weight gain over four years, versus about 1.28 pounds for potatoes cooked other ways. This was an observational finding and cannot prove cause.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. I’m an educator and health coach, not a physician. Your doctor or a registered dietitian knows your numbers, your history, and your body. Talk to them before making changes based on anything you read here. The choice is yours.

I’m just sayin’.

Sources and Further Reading

• Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E. “A satiety index of common foods.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1995.
• Fernandes G, Velangi A, Wolever TMS. “Glycemic index of potatoes commonly consumed in North America.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005.
• Mozaffarian D, Hao T, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB. “Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men.” New England Journal of Medicine, June 2011.

Want the Whole Case File?

Food: The Final Frontier goes deeper on exactly this: what’s really in our food, how it connects to the chronic disease numbers we keep watching climb, and what you can do about it, in plain English. Get it at foodthefinalfrontier.com or on Amazon.

About Lynn

Lynn Peterson is a certified health coach, educator, and the author of Food: The Final Frontier. She has taught more than 3,000 allied health students, led community health classes in churches for more than five years, and hosts the Health News & Views podcast, with more than 140 episodes. She is not a physician. She reads the research, explains it plainly, and sends you back to your own doctor for the personal call. Her mission is clear, trustworthy health information for the communities that mainstream sources too often overlook.

The post Baked Potato vs Potato Chips: Same Plant, Different Story appeared first on Health News & Views.

Key takeaways

• Red No. 3 is being revoked because of cancer in lab rats, not because of behavior research.
• The behavior question is separate. Some children appear more sensitive to dyes than others.
• Federal dye phase-outs announced in 2025 are largely voluntary, so the label is still your best tool.

Your child’s cereal is a shade of red that doesn’t exist in nature. Is that a problem, or just a color? The honest answer on artificial food dyes and kids is that scientists, regulators, and pediatricians don’t fully agree, so let’s lay out what each side actually says.

I’ll give you the findings, the limits, and what’s still unsettled, so you can make the call for your own family.

Where I’m Coming From

I’ve spent more than five years leading health classes in community churches, and I know families want something they can use, not something that scares them. I take that seriously. I’m also an educator, not a physician, so what follows reflects the research, not medical advice for your child.

Have you ever dropped a child off to a birthday party? That excited, engaged child may not be the one you pick up. The child returning home with you may be completely different. If your child has food color & sugar sensitivity, prepare for the ride home. You may experience screaming, crying, combative, and uncontrollable behavior that wasn’t present before. 

Two Different Questions About Artificial Food Dyes and Kids

When people talk about artificial food dyes and kids, two separate stories get tangled together. One is about cancer risk: that is why the FDA moved against Red No. 3. The other is about behavior and attention: that is where the parent worry usually lives. They rest on different studies and different evidence. If you hear someone blend them into one scary headline, that’s your cue to slow down.

What the Behavior Research Says

In April 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the state’s science agency for health risks, reviewed the evidence on synthetic food dyes. It concluded that synthetic food dyes “can result in hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children,” and that children vary in sensitivity. OEHHA also noted that the FDA’s acceptable daily intake limits rest on studies that are 35 to 70 years old, and that juice and soft drinks are among the main sources of dye exposure (OEHHA press release, April 16, 2021).

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) took a careful position in its 2018 policy statement, “Food Additives and Child Health.” It said that artificial food colors “may be associated with worsened ADHD symptoms,” and it advised families to favor fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables over processed foods (AAP, July 23, 2018). Notice the words: “may be associated.”

Some reviews also say the data is thin. A 2022 review of blue dyes in the journal Cureus found only four studies that met its criteria, called the literature “limited,” and concluded that more research is necessary (Kashyap, Cureus, September 16, 2022). So: real signals, real gaps.

What the FDA Says

The FDA takes a more cautious position. It points out that its 2011 Food Advisory Committee concluded that a causal link between color additives and hyperactivity in children “had not been established,” and that average exposure is below the acceptable daily intake. The agency also reviewed one study that found small-to-medium effects and said it did not recommend eliminating colors as a general treatment for ADHD (FDA review).

Here’s the bottom line on artificial food dyes and kids. Put the three side by side and you get a fair summary: California’s scientists and the pediatricians’ group see enough to be concerned. The FDA says the case isn’t proven. Nobody is saying the question is closed. I’d call that “accumulating,” not “proven.”

What Happened to Red No. 3

Red No. 3 (also called erythrosine) is the dye the FDA is actually revoking. The reason is a legal rule known as the Delaney Clause, which bars any food additive that has been found to cause cancer in people or animals. In this case, the FDA cited studies showing cancer in male laboratory rats through a hormonal mechanism. The agency says there is no evidence that it causes cancer in people (FDA, “FD&C Red No. 3”).

The FDA issued orders on this in January 2025. Food manufacturers have until January 15, 2027, to comply, and makers of ingested drugs until January 18, 2028. So you may still see Red No. 3 on some labels for a while.

The 2025 Phase-Out Plan: Mostly Voluntary

On April 22, 2025, HHS and the FDA announced a plan to revoke authorization for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, and to work with industry to phase out six other petroleum-based dyes, Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, and Blue No. 2, by the end of 2026 (FDA announcement).

Here’s the catch: most of that phase-out depends on companies choosing to do it. Trade press reported in September 2026 that the effort was still largely voluntary, with companies such as General Mills, Kraft Heinz, and Nestlé USA pledging changes, and Walmart pointing to a January 2027 timeline (Bakery&Snacks, September 1, 2026). Pledges aren’t the same as shelves. Until your cart looks different, the label is what counts. (Here’s how to read it: How to Read a Nutrition Label.)

So What Now? Your Do-This-Week Steps

Here’s what to do about artificial food dyes and kids without turning snack time into a courtroom.

• Scan for the names. On the ingredient list, look for “Red 40,” “Yellow 5,” “Yellow 6,” “Blue 1,” and “Red 3.”
• Check the drinks first. OEHHA named juice and soft drinks as major sources, so beverages may be the easiest swap.
• Add color the natural way. Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables are the AAP’s simple suggestion.
• Talk to your pediatrician. If your child has ADHD or you’ve noticed a pattern, don’t change a treatment plan on your own. Bring your observations to the doctor.
• Skip the guilt. Dyes are in thousands of products. Nobody dodges all of them, and this isn’t about willpower. It’s about what’s put on the shelves (here’s the bigger picture).

Dyes are one piece of a bigger picture. If you want that context, start with What Is Ultra-Processed Food?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do artificial food dyes and kids’ hyperactivity go together?

California’s OEHHA concluded in 2021 that synthetic dyes can cause hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children. The FDA says a causal link has not been established. Children vary in sensitivity, and researchers say more studies are needed.

Do food dyes make ADHD worse?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says artificial food colors may be associated with worsened ADHD symptoms. The FDA reviewed one study with small-to-medium effects and does not recommend eliminating colors as a general ADHD treatment. Talk to your child’s doctor before changing a treatment plan.

Why is Red No. 3 being banned?

The FDA is revoking Red No. 3 under the Delaney Clause because it caused cancer in male laboratory rats through a hormonal mechanism. The FDA says there is no evidence it causes cancer in humans. Food makers must comply by January 15, 2027.

Which food dyes is the FDA phasing out?

In April 2025, HHS and the FDA announced plans to revoke Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, and to work with industry to phase out Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, and Blue No. 2 by the end of 2026. Most of the phase-out is voluntary.

How can I find artificial dyes on a food label?

Check the ingredient list for names such as Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Red 3. Beverages, cereals, candy, and snacks are common places to look.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. I’m an educator and health coach, not a physician. Your doctor, your child’s pediatrician, or a registered dietitian knows your family’s history and needs. Talk to them before making changes based on anything you read here. The choice is yours.

I’m just sayin’.

Sources and Further Reading

• California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), press release on synthetic food dyes and children’s behavior, April 16, 2021.
• American Academy of Pediatrics, “AAP Says Some Common Food Additives May Pose Health Risks to Children” (policy statement “Food Additives and Child Health,” Trasande et al., Pediatrics, July 23, 2018).
• Kashyap, review of blue food dyes, Cureus, September 16, 2022.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, review of color additives and behavior in children.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FD&C Red No. 3”.
• HHS and FDA, announcement on phasing out petroleum-based synthetic dyes, April 22, 2025.
• Bakery&Snacks, report on the status of the food dye phase-out, September 1, 2026.

Want the Whole Case File?

Food: The Final Frontier goes deeper on exactly this: what’s really in our food, how it connects to the chronic disease numbers we keep watching climb, and what you can do about it, in plain English. Get it at foodthefinalfrontier.com or on Amazon.

About Lynn

Lynn Peterson is a certified health coach, educator, and the author of Food: The Final Frontier. She has taught more than 3,000 allied health students, led community health classes in churches for more than five years, and hosts the Health News & Views podcast, with more than 120 episodes. She is not a physician. She reads the research, explains it plainly, and sends you back to your own doctor for the personal call. Her mission is clear, trustworthy health information for the communities that mainstream sources too often overlook.

Publishing details (not part of the post)

Open items before publishing

• Lynn: replace the highlighted [LYNN: …] note with 2 to 4 sentences from your own experience, then delete the note.
• Confirm the credentials in the About Lynn box, including whether to list degrees.
• Recommended: have a registered dietitian or physician review the health claims before publishing. No medical reviewer is named in this draft.
• Confirm the internal link slugs above match the live site, and publish the five posts so the cross-links work.
• The regulatory status moves fast (Red No. 3 deadlines, voluntary company pledges). Re-check the FDA pages linked in Sources on the day you publish.

The post Artificial Food Dyes and Kids: What the Research Says appeared first on Health News & Views.

Key takeaways

• Food insecurity is more than twice as common among Black households as among White households, according to USDA data for 2024.
• Reviews of dozens of studies find that low-income, minority, and rural neighborhoods are most often affected by poor access to healthy food.
• Advertising is part of the environment, too: most of the ad spending aimed at Black audiences promotes candy, sugary drinks, snacks, and cereals.

“Just make better choices.” It sounds simple until you ask who put better choices within reach. Food deserts and health disparities are one story told in two parts: what’s available where you live, and what happens to bodies over time. That story doesn’t start with willpower.

I’m just the messenger. I’ll share what the research found, name the sources, and tell you where the evidence runs out.

Where I’m Coming From

My mission is clear: trustworthy health information for Black and brown communities, because too often the mainstream sources skip us or talk down to us. I’ve taught allied health students for more than ten years and led community health classes in churches for more than five. Teaching keeps me focused on one question: not whether people care about their health, but what is within reach when they try.

When you have to make a decision based on availability, price, and quality, there’s little time for debate over ‘could have or should have’. Why does a pound of hamburger cost $9, and for $5 I can get (4) chicken nuggets, fries, a burger, and a drink? This scenario goes from academic to mathematical acuity. Disinvestment in inner cities exacerbates the problem. Stores closed because, (as I was once told in my retail food sales days) delivery trucks work on a cash basis; EBT card payments don’t pay the bills. The suppliers want cash. 

Food Desert, or Food Apartheid?

“Food desert” is the term you’ll see in government reports. It sounds like a natural event, like something that just happened. Activist and farmer Karen Washington has pushed for another term, “food apartheid,” because it points to the whole system: race, geography, and economics that shape who has access to good food and who doesn’t (Washington, Guernica, May 7, 2018). I use both terms in this post so you can follow the research and the conversation.

In USDA’s research, the working definition is more technical. The Food Access Research Atlas flags “low-income, low-access” census tracts, areas where many residents have lower incomes and live far from a supermarket. The distance thresholds are 0.5 or 1 mile in urban areas and 10 or 20 miles in rural areas. In 2010 data, about 2.1 million people lived in low-income tracts more than 10 miles from a supermarket (USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas).

Food Deserts and Health Disparities: What the Numbers Show

Start with food insecurity, meaning households that lacked consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. In 2024, USDA’s Economic Research Service found it was 13.7% overall. But the gaps were wide: 24.4% for Black non-Hispanic households, 20.2% for Hispanic households, and 10.1% for White non-Hispanic households (USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, ERR-358).

One more thing you should know. In September 2025, USDA announced it would discontinue this annual report, according to the Alliance to End Hunger and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That means the 2024 report may be the last of its kind, and fewer numbers means fewer chances to see who’s being left out.

Access: What’s on the Block

A 2009 review in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine pulled together 54 studies on neighborhood food environments. Its finding: low-income, minority, and rural neighborhoods were most often the ones affected by poor access to supermarkets and healthy food, and fast food outlets were concentrated in those same areas (Larson, Story & Nelson, 2009, summarized by Healthy Eating Research).

Now do the detective math. If the nearest full grocery store is a long bus ride away, and the corner store sells mostly packaged food, what’s the “choice”? That’s why I keep saying: this isn’t willpower. This is structural. And it’s one reason why ultra-processed food is such a big share of what many families eat.

Marketing: Who Is Being Sold To

The food environment isn’t only about stores. It’s also about the screen. The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut analyzed 2021 advertising data and reported that 73% of the ad spending on Black-targeted and Spanish-language TV went to candy, sugary drinks, snacks, and cereals. Black youth and adults saw 9% to 21% more food and beverage TV ads than their White peers, and the unhealthy share of targeted ads rose from about 50% in 2017 to 75% in 2021. Nineteen companies accounted for 82% of the food ads on Black-targeted TV (UConn Today, November 2022).

I’m not saying every ad is a plot. I’m saying the pattern is documented, and it’s worth knowing who’s talking to your family and what they’re selling. The same goes for the products themselves, from cereal to the dyes that color it (see Artificial Food Dyes and Kids).

What It Means for Health

Here’s where food deserts and health disparities meet the body. A March 2026 study from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), published in JACC Advances and led by Dr. Amier Haidar, followed 6,814 adults ages 45 to 84. People who ate more than 9 servings of ultra-processed food a day had a 67% higher risk of a major cardiac event than people who ate about 1 serving. Each additional daily serving was linked to roughly 5% or more in added risk. The link looked stronger among Black participants: 6.1% higher risk per serving, compared with 3.2% in non-Black participants (American College of Cardiology press release, March 2026).

The honest limits: this study is observational, and the diet data were self-reported. It can show a pattern, not prove that food alone caused the events.

The disparities show up in other places, too. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Black Americans are more than four times as likely to develop kidney failure as White Americans (NIDDK). Food isn’t the only reason, and I’d never say it is. But diabetes and high blood pressure drive much of that risk, and both are shaped by the food environment and access to care.

What the Research Can’t Tell Us

I owe you the limits. “Food desert” maps don’t capture everything: people shop by car, by ride-share, online, and across neighborhoods. Access alone may not fully explain what people eat. Income, time, culture, and advertising all matter. That’s why I call it a food environment, not a single cause. The claim here isn’t that one thing is to blame. It’s that the system has many parts, and none of them are about your character.

So What Now? Your Do-This-Week Steps

Truth Seekers, you can’t fix food deserts and health disparities alone at the kitchen table. But you can work with what you have, and push for what you need.

• Work with the store you have. Frozen vegetables, canned beans, and plain oats are often easier to find and keep. Learn to read the label (here’s how) and compare two versions of the same item.
• Look for added options. Ask about farmers’ markets, community gardens, church or neighborhood pantries, and SNAP or WIC benefits you may qualify for.
• Use the facts at the table. Share one thing from this post with someone who says it’s “just a choice.”
• Speak up locally. Ask your city council, school board, or church about food access in your area. Change here happens block by block.
• Bring it to your doctor. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or kidney concerns, tell your care team about your food access, too. It’s part of your health picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a food desert?

A food desert is a low-income area where residents have limited access to a supermarket or other source of affordable, healthy food. In USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas, low-access is measured by distance, using 0.5 or 1 mile in urban areas and 10 or 20 miles in rural areas.

What is the difference between a food desert and food apartheid?

Food desert is the common government term. Activist Karen Washington prefers food apartheid because it looks at the whole food system, including race, geography, and economics, rather than suggesting the problem is natural.

How does food insecurity differ by race in the U.S.?

According to USDA, food insecurity in 2024 was 24.4% among Black non-Hispanic households, 20.2% among Hispanic households, and 10.1% among White non-Hispanic households, compared with 13.7% overall.

Are unhealthy food ads targeted at Black and Hispanic communities?

The Rudd Center found that 73% of ad spending on Black-targeted and Spanish-language TV went to candy, sugary drinks, snacks, and cereals, and Black youth and adults saw 9% to 21% more food and beverage TV ads than their White peers.

Do food deserts and health disparities affect chronic disease?

Research links poor food access and a heavily ultra-processed diet to higher risk of conditions like heart disease, but most studies are observational and cannot prove cause. Income, time, advertising, and access to health care also play a role.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. I’m an educator and health coach, not a physician. Your doctor or a registered dietitian knows your numbers, your history, and your body. Talk to them before making changes based on anything you read here. The choice is yours.

I’m just sayin’.

Sources and Further Reading

• Rabbitt MP, et al. Household Food Security in the United States in 2024 (ERR-358). USDA Economic Research Service, December 2025.
• USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (low-income, low-access tract definitions and 2010 data).
• Alliance to End Hunger and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reports on USDA’s September 2025 announcement that it would discontinue the household food security report.
• Larson NI, Story MT, Nelson MC. “Neighborhood environments: disparities in access to healthy foods in the U.S.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2009. Summary: Healthy Eating Research.
• UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, “New study shows unhealthy food advertising continues to disproportionately target consumers of color”, UConn Today, November 2022.
• Haidar A, et al. Ultra-processed food intake and cardiovascular events in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. JACC Advances, 2026. American College of Cardiology press release, March 2026.
• Washington K. Guernica, May 7, 2018, on “food apartheid.”
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, “Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States”.

Want the Whole Case File?

Food: The Final Frontier goes deeper on exactly this: what’s really in our food, how it connects to the chronic disease numbers we keep watching climb, and what you can do about it, in plain English. Get it at foodthefinalfrontier.com or on Amazon.

About Lynn

Lynn Peterson is a certified health coach, educator, and the author of Food: The Final Frontier. She has taught more than 3,000 allied health students, led community health classes in churches for more than five years, and hosts the Health News & Views podcast, with more than 120 episodes. She is not a physician. She reads the research, explains it plainly, and sends you back to your own doctor for the personal call. Her mission is clear, trustworthy health information for the communities that mainstream sources too often overlook.

The post Food Deserts and Health Disparities: It’s Not Willpower appeared first on Health News & Views.