Zoning Obesity? Mod 2..1

According to CNN, http://www.cnn.com/video/#, South L.A. has more fast food restaurants than grocery stores or fresh food markets combined. This, according to doctors, has lead to more than 40% of residents to become obese. The point of the report is that zoning laws should be put into place to restrict more fast food restaurants from coming into this part of L.A..

My question is this: Will it really make a difference? I want to believe that people will make the right choices if given the chance, but the reality is that we are creatures of habit. If a person eats fast food everyday for a month, that is a habit, it's not an easy thing to break. Breaking an addiction to fast food can be as difficult as stopping smoking. Because that is what we are really talking about here, isn't it, addiction. So, do we try and implement more healthy food choices into the neighborhood , or will it change anything?

As we have seen in other parts of the country, fast food restaurants have implemented healthy alternatives on their menus, but given then choice between a salad and a juicy greasy cheeseburger, what do you think people are going to do? Subway has a different approach, 95% of their choices are healthy, if you go into Subway, you are going in with the intent on eating healthy.

It comes down to this, if we ban new fast food restaurants from coming in to areas already saturated with them, will it make a difference, will people in that area choose to eat healthier? I think the answer is "no", overall I think people will choose to eat where they know and where it is convenient.