Sign in California (photo by Lysandra Nelson, courtesy of morguefile.com)

Is eating heavily processed fast food a matter of personal choice? Or is an unhealthy diet linked to obesity a matter of public concern?

With a third of American schoolchildren overweight or obese several local governments have decided that fast food is a threat to public health. Some cities have banned trans fats and New York City now requires that calorie counts be posted on menus. Now the City of Los Angeles has placed a one-year moratorium on the opening of new fast food restaurants in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

An article in the New York Times explains,

The councilwoman behind the moratorium, Jan Perry, says its intent is not to crush food choices, but to encourage variety and give residents more nutritious options. Making healthy decisions about food is difficult when people have small incomes, the grocery store is five miles away and a $1 cheeseburger is right around the corner, she and supporters of the ban say.

There are those that worry about how fast food is defined under the ban on new openings. They fear that healthy food that can be served quickly will be shut out along with the food laden with unhealthy fats and comprised of empty calories.

If you’d like to read the New York Times article cited above go to: Los Angeles Stages a Fast Food Intervention