HCS Nutrition ProgramGroup Nine: Overall

By: Isabelle Fesale, Karrah PetersFrangelina , Naa-Akomaah, Kunsung, and Seye

Table Of Contents1. Introduction/ Abstract2. Hypothesis 3. Materials4. Methodology: What did we do?5. Limitations6. Urban Geography7. Socioeconomics8. Discussion9. Appendix:ResultsLast Year vs. This Year10. Conclusion10. Future work/ Scientific Implications11. Acknowledgements

IntroductionNutrition is the survival guide for every living organism on this planet. It

provides them with various nutrients, minerals, fats and other necessities that

restore energy to different parts of the body. Nutrition plays a major role in the

human lifestyle but many people do not know the consequences that arise when

they develop an unhealthy diet. The purpose of this project is to observe various

supermarkets, farmer’s markets and corner stores throughout New York City and

analyze the products for its quality and appearances. This project also analyzed

the environment, cleanliness, income levels and obesity levels of the surrounding

areas of the markets and the location of the markets.

HYPOTHESISLow income areas have poorer quality and limited availability of fresh food from

local 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 businesses in low income area, 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.

Materials•Online services which consists of databases/ our references

•New York subway as a source of transportation

•Farmer Market flyers which gave a detailed description of the items they were displaying•Our Senses•Cameras•Library•Site notes•Green markets•Metro cards

Methodology What are Monday meetings?

Our mentor, Brandon Burton, decided that every Monday at 1:00 p.m., all

ten groups would meet at the park on 86th street and East End to discuss the

components of our project, our experiment, and background information that was

essential to our work. These meetings started from July 22 to current. These meetings

are very important because it informs us on what to expect throughout this experience

and key terms we should keep in mind for our experiment.

THE FOOD PYRAMIDWe first began discussing the food pyramid as a basic guideline

to a healthy living. The Food pyramid is an outline of what you should consume each day based on Dietary Guidelines. The Food pyramid is composed of Fats (oils and sweets), Meat (Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group), Dairy (milk, yogurt, and cheese), vegetables, fruits, and Carbohydrates (Bread, Pasta and Rice.) If you observe and analyze the Food pyramid, you will notice that the more unhealthy or unimportant the foods are for the body, the more they belong on top like Fats for examples.

Recommended amounts:Fats- A very low portion Meat- 2-3 servingsDairy- 2-3 servingsVegetables- 3-5 servingsFruits- 2-3 servingsCarbohydrates- 6-11 servings

Factors We Took Into Consideration

Our main categories that we took into consideration for our research project was diabetes, obesity, whether or not we were going to include a survey, and the research itself.

What we were going to look for in terms of Diabetes?•Death rate of those with diabetes

The ages of those who were diabeticn in which it occurs

•Food available•Break down of genders•Health Factors associated with ethnicity

Number of people with health insurance•Do you have a higher chance of getting diabetes if you are obese?•Closest hospitals/health facilities

Mortality RatePrice of suppliesPeople admitted in hospitalsHow many fast food restaurants in specific area

Factors Continued

What we were going to look for in terms of Obesity?•Type of restaurants•Transportation•Overweight populationAge group

SurveyThe survey was a major issue in our discussions because we as the nutrition group were not sure if we were going to include the survey or not.

Factors ContinuedAdvantage of using survey:We would give the survey to a cashier or random employee in supermarkets and ask a variety of questions, such as:•How often do you eat outside of home? etc.•different ethnicities•gender•we could use databases online•would be a firsthand account

Disadvantage of using a survey•Could be time consuming for us•may not be truthful•could be a challenge to ask people•Do you trust the human perception?

Factors Cont’dAfter long debating, we came up with a clear consensus. We were

going to construct a survey but only distribute it in stores, as those individuals on the streets will most likely ignore us. We were also going to do one general survey and 90% of it would be an anonymous survey while 10% would be a little personal.What questions would we include in survey?•age group•zip code •medical history•How often do you shop at particular store?•Where do they eat?•culture•Ask how healthy are they (might become risky because many people could lie for example if the person is clearly obese but says they eat like a marathon runner)•For personal questions -Are you diabetics and how did you get it? -Do you have any health insurance?

What we were going to look for in terms of Research:•Demographics: ethnicity, number of women or men in community•income•crime rates•housing•education•number of schools•types of businesses•facilities•religion•culture: foreign born people•restaurants•Cleanliness•How many trashcans around, litter, and hours of sanitation•single family homes/ marriage•age group•number of people in household•mortality rate

SITE VISITSThe site visits were conducted with every group. Each group would be

assigned a place, and a designated time was given to that group to meet. As the group reaches a neighborhood, they would first analyze the neighborhood and take notes on the makeup of the area. They would look at things such as average income, health, race, and etc. It is the group's responsibility to tie these characteristics together and come up with their own conclusion and opinion of the area. They would then move their attention to the local Farmer's Market. They would analyze the market and give it a grade according to their criteria.

Our Criteria:

. Presentation.the freshness of the fruits. accessibility meaning how easily the farmers market can be found. and friendliness of the sellers are such things that we decided should be taken in account

Site Visits Cont’d

Then we visit the local supermarket where the same criterion is considered. We look at the quality and the quantity of the food. After we made our rounds in the local farmers market and the super market, we visited the corner store. We analyzed the corner store in the same fashion as we did with the farmers market and the super market except on a smaller scale. We also analyzed how the super market affects the corner store. Corner stores tend to be very poorly stocked when it comes to fruits and vegetables if there is a super market nearby because the owners do not compete with an opponent that clearly has an upper hand. Instead they target their products to a different sort of customers and stock their store with junk food and drinks, which only come in large packaging in the super market.

Site Visits Cont’dHarlem – 125TH street-Prominently Hispanic/ African American-A lot of Single parent mothers wondering the streets-The Farmer Markets sold fruits and vegetables. Some had a greater variety than others. -Was not very clean-Peaches- $2 per 1b-Lettuce $2 per bag-Carrots $2-All the items were grown in Upstate New York

Brooklyn- Caroll Gardens-We categorized it as an upper class neighborhood-The Farmer Markets was like a small metropolitan area-Products in Farmer’s Markets were grown in privately owned farms-Organic milk was $7 per gallon compared to supermarkets-Most of the cheeses were all handmade, which makes the process slower causing the sellers to make the prices higher.

Site Visits Cont’dCaroll Gardens Continued

-The fish market had a variety of different types of fish-The fishes were all fresh salt water fish-Were caught in Long Island- Also sold vegetables which were hardly found in New York City- Sold a variety of organic chesses- Owners were very friendly and even gave out free samples-The prices were high but the products were in very good quality and shipped from

various places in the United States.

Supermarket-This was one of the best we’ve visited by far- The meat section was very high in quality and the presentation was very organized-Very clean-Very fashionable neighborhood and prominently Caucasian-- Very ethnic, high class restaurants

Queens- Astoria-Very Mediterranean-Upper middle class-Restaurants: Indian, Caribbean, Asian, Bakeries

Supermarket-Called Trade Fair-Sold many Kosher products-Separated Kosher meat from regular meat-Olives-Vegetables-Tons of fruits-Organized-Clean-A lot of household items-Healthy food

Corner Store- Right across the street from supermarket-Sold soda, cigarettes, newspapers-Owner was cruel because he thought we were part of food inspection.

LimitationsPro’s and Con’s of

Undergoing the Experiment

Advantage.We were given the opportunity to visit places all over New York City .Visited all five boroughs unlike last year/Learned a tremendous amount about nutrition and different communities nutrition

Disadvantage.Poorly organized.Mentors did not double- check whether or not a Farmer Market in a given area existed..Poor Punctuality on both the mentor behalf and group members. Some stores only allowed a certain amount of us to enter the store at once..Some got kicked out of stores. People not putting enough effort towards the project

Urban Geography Urban Geography is the study of urban areas which have a high concentration and/or percentage of buildings and infrastructure. These are areas where the majority of economic activities are in the secondary sector such as manufacturing and the tertiary sector of the economy also known as the service sector or service industry. Urban geography is also the branch of science that deals with the study of urban areas in terms of concentration, infrastructure, economy, and environmental impacts. We relate to urban geographers and geography in so many different ways. We have been to and researched one of the largest urban areas in the world, New York City. We studied the demographics, religious diversity and the role of the people in the community. We focus on the environmental factors and the significance of one thing to another. We found that the people in urban areas depend on there surroundings greatly. The surroundings have affected some of the people’s health, well-being, and mental state of mind whether it may be good or bad. Most of our site visits were to urban areas. Studies have found that many low income areas have no grocery stores offering, healthy affordable foods. People living in such areas have no choice but to buy over priced processed foods that are typically high in fat, salt, and sugar. Research has also found that chain stores often charge higher prices in low income areas than they do in high income areas. Lack of access to healthy food and higher food prices have been linked to the higher rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases seen in low income groups.

Urban Geography Cont’d

Spatial distribution also falls into urban geography and the nutrition group. Spatial distribution is the act of dispersing and may be the geographic occurrence of an organism or range of a custom pr usage. Most people in the urban areas are unhealthy because quality food is more expensive. Quality food means a higher nutritive value such as proteins minerals and vitamins while the cheap junk food is rich in starches and oils and is deposited in abundant fatty layers. Another example of spatial distribution may be the recreational centers, parks, or gyms nearby. There are not many of those in urban areas and if there are some you might have to pay causing the people to ignore these facilities and instead gaining weight and doing things that pleases them.

SOCIO- ECONMICSSocio-Economics plays a huge role in life especially in nutrition. Socio-Economics is the study

or comparison between economic activity and social life. The reason why it plays a huge role in our everyday life especially in nutrition is because, if you do not have a great income it is unlikely for you to eat healthy and buy the proper food for yourself. Therefore that decreases the chances of you eating and buying nutritious food. But this does not all apply to everyone, for example everyone’s income and neighborhood are not the same. In boroughs like Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx everything is different in there own way and so is everyone’s income. Each one we visited had something different from all the rest. For example we went to 125st. in Harlem to observe a farmers market a super market and a grocery store. There were also a lot of African Americans and a high rate in teen pregnancy. There were many building tall, short, fancy, old, and so forth. We also noticed that most of the people spend there time at the public park sitting in benches and doing nothing. We also observed that in one specific building had they a very large flag similar to the American flag but the only difference was that this flag was in different colors. The colors were red, black, green, and this flag represented the African Americans. What we concluded from this observation was that from the symbol that the flag represented it could have been possible that the majority of the population in Harlem is made up of African Americans. Many aspects of the neighborhood even the people themselves showed a huge reflect upon there economy. Some people where dressed with decent clothes while other had regular clothes. This showed a sign about there income some had nice expensive clothes while other bought clothes from stores that had affordable prices.

Socio- EconomicsAnother thing we observed was that most people were not well in shaped. This showed a bad sign

which was that not everyone is eating healthy and watching out for what they are eating daily. The reason for this maybe because of there income, due to it being low they probably do not have the chances and opportunities that a person with high income do. When most people do not exceed a certain limit of income it gets hard for them to specify what to buy. So they go for the second choice which is to buy what is affordable. But by doing this they do not know that they are harming themselves and will soon end up not having a stable healthy life. People’s income can affect them more than they think.

ResultsThe following graphs show the various results found on each site visit.

Obesity Rates in Five Boroughs

Bronx Manhattan Brookyln Queens Staten Island0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Series 1

Column1

Column2

Obesity rates out of 100% of all five boroughs Bronx has the highest and Manhattan the lowest.

Results Cont’dCleanliness Rates of Farmers Market, Grocery Stores and Corner Stores on a 1-10 scale

Harlem 125th Caroll gardens Astoria0

1

2

3

4

5

6

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8

9

Farmers marketCorner StoresGrocery store

When we went to these three sites and rated how clean each farmers market, grocery store, and corner store was. These are the results.

Results Cont’dAverage Income throughout the Five Boroughs

Average income

Manhattan

Bronx

Brooklyn

Queens

Staten Island

This is the average income for people who live in these boroughs Manhattan is the highest, then Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn and then the Bronx

LAST YEAR VS. THIS YEARThe nutrition project started last year, so we decided to compare and

contrast last year’s project to ours. The sites they visited were similar to ours but unlike this year, they weren’t able to go to all five boroughs, only two. The sites they visited consisted of: Harlem, Inwood, Union Square, and Washington Heights. But their future plans were to expand to all five boroughs. They concluded that there was a clear variation between Farmer markets and super market prices. There was a greater amount for lower price foods at Farmer markets. They gave an example which showed that at Union Square’s Farmer Market, the apples were $2.00 per pound whereas at the local supermarket, apples were $3.00 per pound. Also, their reasoning was that an increase in service at supermarkets may account for higher prices, variety over different seasons, shipping costs and consistency.

In conclusion, this year nutrition project was a continuation of last year’s so there was not many differences between them. The only factor was that they were not able to explore more of New York to expand their research.

In conclusion, our research confirmed our hypothesis. The quality of food vary depending on the income. If you earn a decent amount of money, you are more likely to have a balanced diet and become more health conscious compared to someone who is of lower class.

Overall, the end product of our research was a success. It was a very enjoyable experience for all of us that participated. Going to different farmer’s markets, corner stores, and supermarkets was an enjoyable learning experience as well.

If we are chosen to the nutrition group next year, we would like to expand past New York’s boroughs and maybe look at the farmers market/corner store/ supermarkets in other states. Doing this we can compare the results we collected in New York and to the others states. Also in the future we would like to study more on obesity by comparing their eating habits to the elderly or younger people.

Future Work

Scientific ImplicationsOur research is important to the scientific community because it

determines whether or not people who live in certain areas in New York are living healthy lives based on a variety of factors.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSHarlem Children Society and StaffBrandon Burton (mentor)Dr. SatScott and Rami (co-mentor)All the Farmer’s Markets, Supermarkets, grocery stores, etc.