No wonder residents of one neighborhood in the South Bronx keep reaching for high-calorie beverages — 88 percent of their food stores are plastered with ads for the pound-packing beverages, a Health Department survey found.
Inspectors who visited bodegas and supermarkets in the Crotona-Termont section reported that ads for unhealthy products outnumbered those for fare such as veggies and low-salt soups by a lopsided 11 to 1 margin.
Virtually every shop — 88 percent — had an ad for sugary drinks. Seventy-five percent promoted beer and other alcohol products, while 45 percent displayed signs for cigarettes.
By comparison, only one in five stores had ads for bottled water and one in seven tried to peddle low-calorie drinks.
Fresh produce and snacks such as granola bars were all but invisible to consumers, with less than 5 percent of the stores featuring ads for them.
Two-thirds of South Bronx residents are considered overweight or obese, and one in six have been diagnosed with diabetes — the highest rate in the city.
The ads seem to be working.
In 2012, 41.4 percent of Bronx residents reported consuming one or more sugary drinks every day. That’s down from 47 percent in 2008, but still way above the citywide average of 28 percent.
Studies have linked consumption of sugary drinks to obesity and prompted former Mayor Mike Bloomberg to try to ban restaurants and fast food joints from selling sugary sodas in containers larger than 16 ounces.
Bloomberg’s effort failed.
The survey found that less than half of bodegas in Crotona-Tremont offered low-salt canned vegetables, beans or soup and one-third did not sell whole wheat bread or low-fat milk.
“The Health Department is working closely with community partners in the Bronx to create a healthier food environment and effect change at the neighborhood level,” said an agency spokeswoman.