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Empty calories from food deserts in Chicago, Illinois and the Omaha Indian Reservation

Food deserts are areas of the United States where healthy whole foods, vegetables, and

fresh fruit are lacking. Food deserts are not only defined by scarcity of healthy food, but they

typically coincide with places where 1 out of 5 people lives below the poverty line. People living

in food deserts cannot access nutritious food, due to inaccessibilityunavailability or inability to

purchase.

Illinois, Chicago and Omaha Indian Reservation in Nebraska are examples of areas that are

plagued with food deserts. The unhealthy foods served in these food deserts areis characterized

by empty calories.

Empty calories are foods composed primarily of fats and or sugar. Foods that are

inundated with empty calories can be classified into three groups: fatty, alcoholic, and sugary.

Fatty foods comprise margarine, oils, fats, and shortening. On the other hand, sugary foods

include soft drinks, cake, sweets, sweet beverages that are flavored with fruit, candy, cookies and

any other foods with a high content of added sugar, such as high-fructose corn syrup. Alcohol

can be wine, beer, hard liquor and various alcoholic drinks. In small amounts, empty calories are

not harmful., However, but people tend to eat more than is healthy, causing weight gain and

obesity related problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. According to Lunan et al. (2010),

empty calories contribute to diet- related chronic diseases and obesity.

Empty calories are often found in fast foods. For example, Nebraska ranks as one of the

states with the largest number of many fast food restaurants in the United States. As a result,

the likelihood that With many fast food joints in Nebraska, it is likely that many Nebraskans

people will consume foods with empty calories is high. Other contributors of empty calories

include pizza, French friesires, and dairy desserts (Poti et al., 2013). Grain desserts and soft
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drinks are also another sources of empty calories. Common sources of empty calories are fast

food and convenience stores, candy counters, and pre-packaged foods used as snacks.

In a study conducted among school going children and adults, it was found that

individuals consumed 798 calories in one day; and of this, 40% constitutedwere empty calories

(Reedy & Krebs, 2010). This 40% exceeded the calorie allowance for all sex age groups

regardless of sex or age. The normal discretionary calorie intake ranges from 8-20% (Reedy &

Krebs, 2010); t. This

 EMPTY CALORIES FROM FOOD DESERTS 2

is to means that people whose primary when the top source of energy for individuals is fast foods,

grain desserts and dairy desserts, the individual accumulate too much ends up with an excess of

calories. These calories are then transformed into fat.

Empty calories are prevalent in areas where healthy food is inaccessible either due to

distance or because it is financially out of reaich. In Omaha, Chicago and Illinois, food deserts

exist because people cannot afford healthy meals. On a map by Datafiniti (2018), the states of

Illinois and Nebraska have been red- flagged for their high numbers of fast food restaurants.

Chicago is mainly populated with mainly African Americans, majority of whom are of a low-

income status. As a result, the populations in Chicago cannot afford healthy food, forcing

leaving them to eat foods high in empty calories. Similarly, Omaha has its fair share of

minorities (African American and Hispanics). These minority groups are the target market for

cheap fast food because they have little income and cannot afford healthy food. In the end,

residents of both Omaha and Chicago end up having more than their fair share of fast food, and

increaseing empty calorie intake.

Calories provide our bodies with energy to performdo daily activities; h. However, not

all calories have nutritional value. Empty calories provide the body with few healthy nutrients.

Those calories which are not used as nutrients (empty calories) turn into saturated fat. Empty

calories have no health benefits and often have negative impacts on health such as chronic

disease and weight gain (Steen, 2017). UnhealthyPoor quality fats such as those found in from

French fries impair the function of the mitochondria, contributing to excessinflammatory weight

gain (Steen, 2017). On the other hand, refined sugar increases insulin levels. According to

Healthline, high levels of insulin have been linked with cancer (1, 2, 3), obesity, and heart

disease (Spritzler, 2016). Additionally, high levels of insulin in the blood can cause insulin

resistance in the cells.

 Question: Chicago is famously known for its pizza and hot dogs. How can reformers reconcile

this positive image of empty calories with the negative effects of eating “junk food”?

Image showing the daily calorie needs and daily empty calorie limits for males and females between 14 and

50-years-old. Source: Corbin, C., Corbin, D., Farrar, T., and McConnell, K. (2014).

Graphic depicting the “emptiness” of empty calories. 400 calories of vegetables is more nutritionally

valuable than 400 calories of oil. Source: Corbin et al. (2014).

 References

Corbin, C., Corbin, D., Farrar, T., and McConnell, K. (2014). Health for life. Champaign, IL:

Human Kinetics.

Datafiniti. (2018). Ranking cities with most and least fast food restaurants. Retrieved from

https://datafiniti.co/fast-food-restaurants-america/

Lunan, S. C., Karpyn, A., & Sherman, S. (2010). Storing empty calories and chronic disease risk:

snack-food products, nutritive content, and manufacturers in Philadelphia corner stores.

Journal of Urban Health, 87(3), 394-409

Poti, J. M., Slining, M. M., & Popkin, B. M. (2013). Where are kids getting their empty calories?

Stores, schools, and fast-food restaurants each played an important role in empty calorie

intake among US children during 2009-2010. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and

Dietetics, 114(6), 908–917. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2013.08.012

Reedy, J., & Krebs-Smith, S. M. (2010). Dietary sources of energy, solid fats, and added sugars

among children and adolescents in the United States. Journal of the American Dietetic

Association, 110(10), 1477–1484. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2010.07.010

Spritzler, F. (2016). 14 ways to lower your insulin. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/

nutrition/14-ways-to-lower-insulin

Steen, J. (2017). What are empty calorie foods and why are they bad. Retrieved from https://

www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/11/01/what-are-empty-calorie-foods-and- why-are-they-

bad_a_23263969/