People who live in lower economic neighborhoods in the United States are more likely to have plenty of fast food restaurants rather than supermarkets that offer a wide variety of healthy foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, an analysis of 54 studies confirms.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis reviewed studies published between 1985 and 2008 that examined food access in several neighborhoods. The investigation notes that the segregation of an area by “income, race and ethnicity” has an impact on U.S. health disparities. The study cites accessibility to health care and healthy foods as a possible factor. It also found that every additional supermarket in a neighborhood increased the likelihood that African Americans would meet guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption by 32 percent.

While there hasn’t been much evaluation of policies for reducing the inequalities, researchers suggest that if municipalities offer financial incentives and assistance for parking/transportation plans and site cleanup/assembly, supermarkets may be encouraged to open in lower-income neighborhoods.