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Abstract
Public health within the United States is becoming a concern
not only from the perspective of rapidly expanding
health care costs but also in terms of economic productivity.
Obesity and other diet-related diseases are said to becoming
epidemic. At the same time, in both rural and poorer
urban areas, the notion of “food deserts”—geographic areas
with limited access to and availability of affordable healthy
foods—is gathering significant attention. While the complex
relationships between poverty and health outcomes
are well-documented, it is not clear if food access changes
these relationships, especially in the rural United States.