Restaurant Realities: Inequalities in Access to Healthy Restaurant Choices

This Robert Wood Johnson Foundation policy brief highlights disparities related to access to healthy foods in low-income areas.

Families and children from lower income communities and racial/ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to have diets that meet nutrition guidelines for good health and are at higher risk for obesity. According to the brief, inequalities in access to healthy choices at restaurants may be a factor in accounting for these disparities.

This report suggests that environmental and policy changes could correct inequalities in restaurant distribution and healthy food choices, leading to improved health outcomes and reduced health disparities. The report was produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research initiative.