With obesity on the rise in New York City, it comes as no surprise that poorer neighborhoods, such as Harlem, would be affected most. Various factors contribute to the 25% adult and child obesity rate in Harlem, particularly beverage availability, choice and consumption.

In comparison to Harlem, the Upper East Side has a 7 % obesity rate – the lowest in all of New York City. Yet the Upper East Side is only a few steps away from Harlem. The disparity is due to a variety of environmental factors – income, resource availability, education, diet and more.

On 103rd Street between Lexington and Park Avenue, there are three deli stores, one Chinese food restaurant, and one liquor store. All four stores carry alcohol and are conveniently located in between residential buildings. The three delis carry various chips, sodas and candy. One carries fruits and vegetables.

In contrast, there are no food stores on 79th street between Lexington and Park Avenue. But there is a healthy alternative – Vitamin Shoppe.

Adding on to the lack of economic resources for Harlem residents, it doesn’t help that West and East Harlem combined has only 17 gyms, whereas the Upper East side, 60th – 96th St has fifty-seven gyms.

103rd Street and 79th Street are typical of Harlem and the Upper East Side, respectively. The Upper East Side has many more supermarkets and grocery stores, whereas Harlem is bombarded with corner stores, bodegas and fast food restaurants.

For the Harlem resident, the local store has limited choices – Red Bull, Tropicana orange juice, Top Pop and other soft drinks. When Tropicana costs $2.75 and Top Pop is only $1.25, consumers usually purchase the sugary soft drink.

“I can’t give my kids five dollars everyday to buy a protein shake,” says Darnell Delince, a Harlem resident, “but with two dollars you can buy two bags of chips and a soda. That keeps them happy.”

“The main problem with sugary soft drinks is calories,” said Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, “People who drink a lot of them tend to have worse diets, take in more calories, and weigh more than people who don’t.”

Even Harlem’s major supermarkets, such as C-Town, market sugary drinks to their customers. C-Town’s circular markets Hawaiian Punch for ninety-nine cents very heavily but fails to offer healthier alternatives. Hawaiian Punch contains less than 2% juice.

A popular supermarket on the Upper East Side  – D’Agostino – does not offer Hawaiian punch. Instead, their circulars contain advertisements for 3 Liters of Poland Spring water for ninety-nine cents.

Harlem residents are more likely to consume excessive amounts of unhealthy beverages, due to the different choices available to them in their local corner store.

Poor beverage choice and availability does not necessarily result in obesity. However, people who consume such beverages are less likely to make healthy diet choices.

According to Dr. Arlene Spark, “It’s totally unrealistic to expect to find anyone who is that diet conscious and health savvy who gets all the nutrients he needs in 450 calories less than he needs (to make room for the 450 he’d get from the soft drinks) who would also be drinking a lot of soda.” 

Assuming a person consumes 450 calories in soft drinks (3 cans) per day, is it possible to maintain a healthy weight?

If someone were to attempt this, Dr. Spark says, “He gains weight because of the extra calories he’s ingesting. Or he under-eats 450 calories to make room for the soda. That would mean he needs to get all the nutrients in 450 less calories, which can’t happen. Or the third possibility is he’ll get only a fraction of the nutrients he needs in a diet deficient in 450 calories in order to make room for the soda. That would results in nutrient deficiencies.”

However, few Harlem residents have the education necessary to make healthy decisions about beverage consumption.

“We are overweight,” says Delince, “but the city should educate us or at least let us know what drinks we shouldn’t drink.”

Dr. Joel Brind, a professor of biology disagrees. “I think the present city administration is going too far in regulating the sale of beverages–or trans fats, for that matter–in the city at large. This is way too intrusive on free enterprise, and it puts government in the role of deciding what is harmful and what is not.”

Community organizations are attempting to fight the obesity epidemic in Harlem. Mt. Sinai Hospital conducts cholesterol checks and hosts cardiac arrest fairs where residents can learn how to use defibrillators and CPR. The Community Healthcare Network offers Heart Health Program, a five week education program, specifically targeted for those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and who are overweight or obese.

However, the best way to combat obesity due to improper consumption of sugary beverages still is, and always will be, water.

After all, “ NYC has a terrific-tasting water supply directly from the Catskill Mountains. It’s a lot less expensive than soda. And it contains fluoride – I happen to believe in its protective effects,” said Dr. Spark.