Are Cheap Bodegas To Blame For Your Fatino Babies?

By now, we’re all familiar with studies that show young, inner-city Latinos are fatter than everyone else in the entire world. We’ve encountered a few possible solutions for dealing with childhood obesity, as well as some proposed solutions - like banning fast food chains in South LA - that don’t seem to have worked quite as well as some would have hoped. Now comes further news that access to inexpensive, processed foods is hurting Latino children in urban areas. 

A new survey out of Temple University suggests that school children in Philadelphia typically spend about $1.07 on snacks at their local bodega, with their treats typically coming in at about 360 calories - that’s about 100 calories more than one chocolate bar. Researchers noted that “just 25 cents can purchase eight ounces of a sweetened fruit drink, a bag of chips, candy, gum, even a popsicle.” Um. Why are bodegas not this cheap in New York? Those little sugar juices that come in mini barrels (Do not even act like you have no idea what we’re talking) are at least 50 cents. 

So what does this mean for Latinos?:

Research has shown that childhood obesity is higher among ethnic minorities, and the communities in which they live often have a disproportionate number of corner stores.

At the points in our lives that we’ve been poorest (Like, you know. Every point since graduating college.), we’ll admit to having a bodega feast on more than one occasion - A bag of chips, some sort of Hostess snack cake and a bottle of Diet Coke. It’s cheap, it’s filling and it’s convenient. But, yeah, we guess it’s also been putting us on the fast track to diabetes and osteoporosis. Now, we’ve learned to try and have more veggies (canned or frozen, usually), fruits and whole grains and only have bodega food as an occasional treat. The trick, as we see it, is teaching and practicing moderation within your budget. Yeah, we’re probably still going to have PopTarts for breakfast every now and then, but we’ve cut down on soda and chips and rarely ever eat candy nowadays. 

God, please don’t villainize bodegas. They’re there for you when everything else is closed and you need emergency Hostess cupcakes. And then emergency Pepto-Bismol. 

City Candy Stores Offer Cheap Calories [MedPage]