Fast-food intake was indeed related to its availability among low-income residents, especially men living within 3 kilometers of places selling calorie-packed, supersized junk.
But nearness to stores with fruits, veggies, and wholesome foods was not related to consumption. (A writer of a commentary in the same issue says this finding is dubious, since the quality and cost of the healthy foods were not assessed.)
The study, which appears in last week's Archives of Internal Medicine, may be cheered by some in Los Angeles. That city imposed a moratorium on new fast-food eateries in low-income south L.A.
- Marie McCullough
Too much salt with too little potassium doubles heart risk
A federal study suggests a new wrinkle in the debate about the dangers of eating too much salt.
The research found that the people who get too much salt, but also get too little potassium, were twice as likely to die from a heart attack as those who ate about the same amount of both nutrients.
Sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Potassium may neutralize the heart-damaging effects of salt, one of the researchers speculated.
Good sources of potassium include spinach, bananas, broccoli, and prunes.
The study, led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was published last week in Archives of Internal Medicine.
- Associated Press
Study links smoking exposure to children's behavior problems
Smokers with kids have yet another reason to quit: New research links children's learning and behavioral disorders to secondhand smoke exposure at home.
The study, led by Harvard tobacco control researcher Hillel Alpert, analyzed results from a 2007 federal phone survey of U.S. households. Of 55,358 children under 12, six percent had parents who reported smoking at home.
