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      *A new study reported by qsrmagazine.com shows that urban marketing of high-calorie foods and beverages exposes black consumers to more unhealthy messages around eating and limits their access to healthy foods, compared to whites or the general population.      

       The research review, published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health, suggests the overall effects of these marketing strategies may contribute to the significantly higher rates of obesity among African Americans than in whites.      

       "It's hard to make healthy choices when all the signals and supports in your environment tell you to do just the opposite," says the study's lead author, Sonya A. Grier, Ph.D., a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, currently at the American University Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C. "One way to make a dent in the obesity epidemic is to reverse those messages so that marketing efforts support healthier eating among African Americans."

       The researchers conducted a systematic review of published studies to identify the 20 that permitted comparisons of food and beverage marketing strategies to African Americans versus other groups. Despite a limited evidence base, they found that African Americans are more frequently exposed to food promotion and distribution patterns that support unhealthy eating habits.