Impact of Junk Food on Kids

A recent study of 45 distinct Ward 8 neighborhoods investigated environmental factors contributing to current obesity rates.

The initiative was a month-long study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the National Urban League for the Center for Applied Behavioral and Evaluation Research (CABER), Academy for Educational Development (AED), which seeks to improve the environmental infrastructure for African-American children who are at risk for obesity.

One portion of the study, during which AED surveyed dozens of food and deli markets, liquor stores, gas stations and carryouts revealed a high percentage of revenue is from the purchase of junk foods.

It was alarming to see the kids in the stores after 9 in the morning buying junk food items when they should have been in school," said Frank Lawrence, research and program associate for the Academy. "Also, it was a surreal experience to study the patterns and witness how kids after school bought candies, chips and sodas and called it their dinner."

In the 1980s, several parental organizations approached the D.C. Council to mandate that corner stores not open until after schools were in session to prevent students from buying junk foods before they went to classes.