Disparities in Diabetes: Life in a Food Desert

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in our culture. Living in a food desert can increase a person’s chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Disproportionate rates of who lives in food deserts in terms of race and class are what this study investigates within the 5 boroughs of New York City. Collecting data on areas with the lowest and highest rates of diabetes and on the number of grocery stores and fast food chains in the area are important in this study’s results. This study tackles a community’s access to fast food versus fresh food and rates of diabetes within New York City communities and rates of diabetes among populations. This research is meant to examine sociological reasons as to why certain groups of people are more likely to develop diabetes rather than only viewing it from biological reasoning.