Nutrition & Health Living 2009: Socioeconomics

Nutrition & Health Living 2009: Socioeconomics By: Group 3 ( NgozyManduakolam, OmyraMesia, Nishat Tabassum, Amy El-Shafi, Gyason Copeland, Danielle Pennant, Angela Vohra, Melissa Roopram, Aubye El-Shafi, Afroza Sultana) Mentor: Brandon Burton

Introduction • The 2009 Nutrition & Healthy Living Projects aim was to go into the different farmers market around New York City to observe the food, the environment in which the farmers markets are in, a local supermarket and corner store. This would help us in turn determine what are some key causes to health related diseases such as obesity, diabetics and cardiovascular disease.

Words you should know…. • Socioeconomics- the study of interrelations between economics and social behavior • Urban Geography- the demographic study of areas with high concentration of buildings and infrastructures. • Demographics- the statistical data of population • Farmers Market / Green Market- an outdoor market where farmers sell their goods in individual booths or stands.

Purpose • The 2009 Nutrition & Healthy Living Projects aim was to go into the different farmers market around New York City to observe the food, the environment in which the farmers markets are in, a local supermarket and corner store. This information that would be gathered would help us figure out if the socioeconomic factors play a role in diseases such as diabetics, cardiovascular disease, obesity and more.

Hypothesis • Low-income areas have poorer quality and limited availability of fresh food from local food suppliers. These neighborhoods have fewer health facilities such as fitness centers, nutritional supplement retailers and health food stores. These areas are more prone to health related illnesses and conditions; such as obesity and diabetes. Food retailers of natural and organic products do not open business in low-income areas due to the income level taxes and high crime rates. Low-income consumers do not patronize these businesses due to residence lack of health education and high prices of good quality foods.

Methodology • First we began our site visits to various farmers market around the city in groups. When going to these areas we made observations and took notes. - when going to these farmers market we observed various different things such as the texture of the food, the price, ripeness, freshness, color, & smell which we took notes of. • Then we found the nearest supermarket. • When we went into a supermarket we would observe the availability of different types of food, expiration date, how well they preserved the food, and the price. • After we made observations at the nearest supermarket we walked to the nearest corner store.

Methodology (cont…) • At the corner store we would observe the types of things sold, the price, the quality, the expiration date and if it was well packaged. • Finally after we did all these observations at the farmers market, supermarket and corner store we would walk around a block radius of the farmers market to observe the environment in which the community was in. • When we observed the environment we took into account how many fitness centers were around the community, schools, number of parks, precincts, restaurants, and common ethnicity. • After we did all these observations of the site we went to we wrote up our notes in a specific format and sent them to our mentor Brandon Burton.

Methodology (cont…) • Each site visit was done by two groups. This was done to get two views in order to have an accurate result. • In addition each week a full group meeting was done to talk about our progression and how we could better conduct our experiment. • We were taught how to better ourselves when doing grocery shopping by looking at the food label.

Demographics

Results • Our findings supported our hypothesis. Residents in Manhattan for example tend to eat healthier due to the fact they have a wide variety of store to purchase from such as food emporium, and whole foods store which specializes in organic products that benefits a human body. In addition because Manhattan has one of the largest concentrations of extreme wealth in the entire United States they have enough resources to build medical and fitness facilities to improve their health conditions. When comparing the medium household income of the different boroughs in NYC Manhattan is at the top with $47,030 and the two bottom boroughs are Staten Island and Bronx.

Conclusion • In conclusion we learned that the environment a person lives in plays a huge role in living a healthy lifestyle. This is mainly due to the fact the availability of certain products may vary from area to area. In addition the area with better socioeconomic conditions may have a better chance of avoiding certain health related diseases due to their high income level. These high- income level area attracts more business and an lower crime rate due to more safety being enforced.

Scientific Implications • This is a big contribution to the scientific community because it allows them to take other factors into account besides nutrition. In addition it allows the government to oversee which parts of the boroughs needs assistance in living a healthier lifestyle as opposed to who doesn’t. It allows them to enforce better safety in different parts of the city that actually needs it as well as provide employment opportunities so families could have options in choosing the right kind of food to eat.

References • http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en • http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/home/home.shtml • http://www.census.gov/ • http://www.factmonster.com/ • http://www.socioeconomic.org/ • http://csis.org/ • http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/ • America’s children and the environment by Amy D. Kyle • Tracey J woodruff. Daniel A. Axelrad. Vol.114, No3 March 2006. • www.cenyc.org/greenmarket • www.bmj.com/ogi/content/extract/320/7243/2100 • http://www.bls.gov/ • http://www.pascenter.org/state_based_stats/homeHealthAides.php?state=newyork • http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/crimnet/ojsa/stats.htm

References (cont…) • http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/home/home.shtml • http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ny/bronx/crime/ • http://www.newyorkfed.org/regional/profile_nyc.html • http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/36/3651002.html • http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/34/2/268 • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2976767 • http://www.jstor.org/pss/3096997 • http://www.ibrooklyn.com/site/aboutbrooklyn/brooklyncensusdata • http://www.crainsnewyork.com/section/city_facts&cat=demographics • http://www.hometownusa.com/ny/Queens.html • http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=1751

Acknowledgements • Brandon Burton • Scott • Rammy • Gozy • All the students in the Nutrition Group • HCS staff • Dr. Sat • Audience

Nutrition & Health Living 2009: Socioeconomics