An analysis of scores of research projects showed that in a majority of cases, ready access to healthy food had little to do with obesity rates.

A paper published in the Journal Obesity said that out of 106 studies, 71 showed no relation between obesity rates and living close to a fast food outlet. There was a positive relationship in 29 studies, however.

Living close to a supermarket that sells fresh food had similar results, with 67 studies showing no effect, and 22 indicating lower obesity rates for those who had access to the stores.

The results could take some of the air out of the notion that "food deserts," where access to supermarkets is scarce and high-energy snack foods are plentiful, are a top concern in the fight against obesity.

Hundreds of programs across the country have focused on the problem, including the federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which has distributed more than $500 million to increase fresh food access in poverty-stricken areas.

The study's authors said while access to healthy food is important for fighting rising rates of obesity, many factors contribute to the epidemic, including time, education, exercise cost and motivation. The authors also concluded that results from studies showing no connection between food landscape and health should be "interpreted cautiously due to the low quality of available studies."

Read More:

• The Relationship Of The Local Food Environment With Obesity (Obesity)
• What Does Your Local Food Environment Say About Your Waistline? (Pacific Standard)
• Do ‘Food Deserts' Cause Unhealthy Eating? (Wall Street Journal)
• Food Deserts Aren't the Problem (Slate)