Flanders on the other hand, are ubiquitous. in 2020, 42.9% of the residential area examined contained no healthy food retailers and 77.7% of the area can be considered a severe food swamp. areas with a high number of vulnerable groups are healthier than flanders as a whole because these areas are mostly found in dense urban centers where the ratio of healthy food retailers to all retailers is higher. conclusions: food deserts are a relatively small problem in flanders in comparison to the widespread occurrence of food swamps. these food swamps exacerbates the obesity epidemic in flanders and lead to a shorter health span of the affected individuals and to increased medical costs for society. key messages: the food environment in flanders is generally unhealthy, making it easy for individuals to buy unhealthy foods. food swamps are a major problem in flanders, where unhealthy retailers drown out healthy retailers