An AnnoTATEd STudEnT RESEARCHEd ARgumEnT 201Redevelopment Plan, notes that if the community was fiscally
healthy, it would be reasonable to expect the inhabi tants to sim-
ply drive the six miles to the strip mall district, but unfortunately
many are marginally employed and do not have access to cars. For
them, it is economically irresponsible to spend the extra money
to get to the supermarket, and so they feed their families on the
cheap soda, chips, and processed food that are readily available
at the convenience store. Especially since high-calorie, low-nutri-
ent, packaged food tends to be denser, urban mothers find that it
helps their children feel full (Garnett). Sadly, a health investiga-
tion released in 2006 concluded that by the age of three, more
than one-third of urban children are obese, due in large part to
the consumption of low-quality food obtained from corner stores
(Smith). A recent analysis of urban stores in Detroit found that
only 19 percent offer the healthy food array suggested by the FDA
food pyramid (Brown and Carter 5). The food that is offered con-
tains 25 percent less nutrient density, and consequently, under-
privileged socioeconomic populations consume significantly lower
levels of the micronutrients that form the foundation for proper
protein and brain development. In a recent study of poor house-
holds, it was found that two-thirds of children were nutritionally
poor and that more than 25 percent of women were deficient in
iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, thiamin, and riboflavin
(Garnett). Of course, some may challenge the relevance of these
vitamins and nutrients since they are not something the average
person consciously incorporates into his or her diet on a daily
basis. Yet modern research, examining the severely homogenous
diets of the poor, has found severe developmental consequences
associated with the lack of nutritional substance. For those
afflicted, these deficiencies are not simply inconvenient, but
actually exacerbate their plight and hinder their progress toward
a sustainable lifestyle.
The human body is a complex system that cannot be
sustained merely on the simple sugars and processed carbo-
hydrates that comprise most cheap and filling foodstuffs, and
research shows a relationship between nutritional deficiencies
and a host of cognitive and developmental impairments that are
prevalent in the undernourished families from urban America.Synthesizing helps
illustrate the extent
of the problem and
bolster her view that
the poor suffer the
most from the problem
she identifies (Garnett;
Smith; Brown and
Carter).Here she paraphrases
findings.Paul 3607_GRE_5344_Ch7_151_210.indd 201 11/19/14 1:59 PM