According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 23 million Americans live in "food deserts," low-income areas without "ready access" to grocery stores. This, however, is not why Americans are so fat, according to a University of North Carolina study of long-term eating habits and summarized in The Week:

The real problem, the study found, is the existence of "food swamps," filled with convenience stores selling calorie-loaded packaged foods, gallon cups of soda, and other sugar-loaded beverages, and fast-food chains peddling burgers, fries, and fried chicken on almost every street corner. That's no exaggeration: There are now five fast-food restaurants for every supermarket in the U.S.

Pathetic. Besides, are you aware that they sell frozen White Castle burgers they sell at Price Chopper? BOGO special this weekend! Anyway, here's the USDA's interactive "Food Desert Locator," in case you want to check out how poor and/or fat your neighbors are. [USDA, The Week, images via McDonald's and Shutterstock]