Asians report the worst access to food that’s both healthy and fits their palate, according to the first study in Los Angeles County to drill down on nutrition insecurity. Researchers at USC found that the county’s Asian residents were more than twice as likely to be nutrition insecure than white residents. Nutrition insecurity is increasingly recognized as critical a problem as food insecurity – when people don’t have the money to buy enough food.
By contrast, nutrition-insecure people may be able to afford their groceries but have trouble getting healthy food that meets their cultural, religious or dietary needs. This can result in people turning to processed food with more fat and empty calories, which then contributes to bad health outcomes ranging from depression to diabetes. “We're really understanding now that poor nutrition has so much to do with the food environment that you're in, as opposed to folks making bad health choices,” said Kayla de la Haye, who leads USC’s Institute for Food System Equity.
The study didn’t delve into why Asians had the most trouble getting healthy food. But de la Haye noted even in a place as diverse as L.A.
County, some Asian residents live in areas where their preferred food and ingredients are not easily available. Take Chinatown. The last several years has seen Asian supermarkets close or leave the neighborhoods, forcing its older residents to adapt to how they get groceries.
“They might have to travel further,” de .
