43 research outputs found
Food venue choice, consumer food environment, but not food venue availability within daily travel patterns are associated with dietary intake among adults, Lexington Kentucky 2011
Objective
The retail food environment may be one important determinant of dietary intake. However, limited research focuses on individualsĂąâŹâą food shopping behavior and activity within the retail food environment. This studyĂąâŹâąs aims were to determine the association between six various dietary indicators and 1) food venue availability; 2) food venue choice and frequency; and 3) availability of healthy food within food venue.
Methods
In Fall, 2011, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults (n=121) age 18 years and over in Lexington, Kentucky. Participants wore a global position system (GPS) data logger for 3-days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) to track their daily activity space, which was used to assess food activity space. They completed a survey to assess demographics, food shopping behaviors, and dietary outcomes. Food store audits were conducted using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey-Store Rudd (NEMS-S) in stores where respondents reported purchasing food (n=22). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between six dietary variables with food venue availability within activity space; food venue choice; frequency of shopping; and availability of food within food venue.
Results
1) Food venue availability within activity space ĂąâŹâ no significant associations. 2) Food Venue Choice ĂąâŹâ Shopping at farmersĂąâŹâą markets or specialty grocery stores reported higher odds of consuming fruits and vegetables (OR 1.60 95% CI [1.21, 2.79]). Frequency of shopping - Shopping at a farmersĂąâŹâą markets and specialty stores at least once a week reported higher odds of consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR 1.55 95% CI [1.08, 2.23]). Yet, shopping frequently at a super market had higher odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 1.39 95% CI [1.03, 1.86]). 3) Availability of food within store ĂąâŹâ those who shop in supermarkets with high availability of healthy food has lower odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 0.65 95% CI [0.14, 0.83]).
Conclusion
Interventions aimed at improving fruit and vegetable intake need to consider where individualsĂąâŹâą purchase food and the availability within stores as a behavioral and environmental strategy
Association between fast food purchasing and the local food environment
Objective: In this study, an instrument was created to measure the healthy and unhealthy characteristics of food environments and investigate associations between the whole of the food environment and fast food consumption.Design and subjects: In consultation with other academic researchers in this field, food stores were categorised to either healthy or unhealthy and weighted (between +10 and −10) by their likely contribution to healthy/unhealthy eating practices. A healthy and unhealthy food environment score (FES) was created using these weightings. Using a cross-sectional study design, multilevel multinomial regression was used to estimate the effects of the whole food environment on the fast food purchasing habits of 2547 individuals.Results: Respondents in areas with the highest tertile of the healthy FES had a lower likelihood of purchasing fast food both infrequently and frequently compared with respondents who never purchased, however only infrequent purchasing remained significant when simultaneously modelled with the unhealthy FES (odds ratio (OR) 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.32–0.83). Although a lower likelihood of frequent fast food purchasing was also associated with living in the highest tertile of the unhealthy FES, no association remained once the healthy FES was included in the models. In our binary models, respondents living in areas with a higher unhealthy FES than healthy FES were more likely to purchase fast food infrequently (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.00–1.82) however no association was found for frequent purchasing.Conclusion: Our study provides some evidence to suggest that healthier food environments may discourage fast food purchasing.<br /
A possible doseĂąâŹâresponse association between distance to farmersĂąâŹâą markets and roadside produce stands, frequency of shopping, fruit and vegetable consumption, and body mass index among customers in the Southern United States
Background: The association between farmersĂąâŹâą market characteristics and consumer shopping habits remains
unclear. Our objective was to examine associations among distance to farmersĂąâŹâą markets, amenities within farmersĂąâŹâą
markets, frequency of farmersĂąâŹâą market shopping, fruit and vegetable consumption, and body mass index (BMI). We
hypothesized that the relationship between frequency of farmersĂąâŹâą market shopping and BMI would be mediated by
fruit and vegetable consumption.
Methods: In 15 farmersĂąâŹâą markets in northeastern North Carolina, JulyĂąâŹâSeptember 2015, we conducted a crosssectional
survey among 263 farmersĂąâŹâą market customers (199 provided complete address data) and conducted
farmersĂąâŹâą market audits. To participate, customers had to be over 18 years of age, and English speaking. Dependent
variables included farmersĂąâŹâą market shopping frequency, fruit and vegetable consumption, and BMI. Analysis of
variance, adjusted multinomial logistic regression, Poisson regression, and linear regression models, adjusted for
age, race, sex, and education, were used to examine associations between distance to farmersĂąâŹâą markets, amenities
within farmersĂąâŹâą markets, frequency of farmersĂąâŹâą market shopping, fruit and vegetable consumption, and BMI.
Results: Those who reported shopping at farmersĂąâŹâą markets a few times per year or less reported consuming 4.4
(standard deviation = 1.7) daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and those who reported shopping 2 or more times
per week reported consuming 5.5 (2.2) daily servings. There was no association between farmersĂąâŹâą market amenities,
and shopping frequency or fruit and vegetable consumption. Those who shopped 2 or more times per week had a
statistically significantly lower BMI than those who shopped less frequently. There was no evidence of mediation of
the relationship between frequency of shopping and BMI by fruit and vegetable consumption.
Conclusions: More work should be done to understand factors within farmersĂąâŹâą markets that encourage fruit and
vegetable purchases.ECU Open Access Publishing Support Fun
Validation of food store environment secondary data source and the role of neighborhood deprivation in Appalachia, Kentucky
Background
Based on the need for better measurement of the retail food environment in rural settings and to examine how deprivation may be unique in rural settings, the aims of this study were: 1) to validate one commercially available data source with direct field observations of food retailers; and 2) to examine the association between modified neighborhood deprivation and the modified retail food environment score (mRFEI).
Methods
Secondary data were obtained from a commercial database, InfoUSA in 2011, on all retail food outlets for each census tract. In 2011, direct observation identifying all listed food retailers was conducted in 14 counties in Kentucky. Sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were compared. Neighborhood deprivation index was derived from American Community Survey data. Multinomial regression was used to examine associations between neighborhood deprivation and the mRFEI score (indicator of retailers selling healthy foods such as low-fat foods and fruits and vegetables relative to retailers selling more energy dense foods).
Results
The sensitivity of the commercial database was high for traditional food retailers (grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores), with a range of 0.96-1.00, but lower for non-traditional food retailers; dollar stores (0.20) and FarmerĂąâŹâąs Markets (0.50). For traditional food outlets, the PPV for smaller non-chain grocery stores was 38%, and large chain supermarkets was 87%. Compared to those with no stores in their neighborhoods, those with a supercenter [OR 0.50 (95% CI 0.27. 0.97)] or convenience store [OR 0.67 (95% CI 0.51, 0.89)] in their neighborhood have lower odds of living in a low deprivation neighborhood relative to a high deprivation neighborhood.
Conclusion
The secondary commercial database used in this study was insufficient to characterize the rural retail food environment. Our findings suggest that neighborhoods with high neighborhood deprivation are associated with having certain store types that may promote less healthy food options
The availability of snack food displays that may trigger impulse purchases in Melbourne supermarkets
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Supermarkets play a major role in influencing the food purchasing behaviours of most households. Snack food exposures within these stores may contribute to higher levels of consumption and ultimately to increasing levels of obesity, particularly within socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We aimed to examine the availability of snack food displays at checkouts, end-of-aisle displays and island displays in major supermarket chains in the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Melbourne.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Within-store audits of 35 Melbourne supermarkets. Supermarkets were sampled from the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs within 30 km of the Melbourne CBD. We measured the availability of crisps, chocolate, confectionery, and soft drinks (diet and regular) at the checkouts, in end-of-aisle displays, and in island bin displays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Snack food displays were most prominent at checkouts with only five stores not having snack foods at 100% of their checkouts. Snack foods were also present at a number of end-of-aisle displays (at both the front (median 38%) and back (median 33%) of store), and in island bin displays (median number of island displays: 7; median total circumference of island displays: 19.4 metres). Chocolate items were the most common snack food item on display. There was no difference in the availability of these snack food displays by neighbourhood disadvantage.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As a result of the high availability of snack food displays, exposure to snack foods is almost unavoidable in Melbourne supermarkets, regardless of levels of neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Results of this study could promote awareness of the prominence of unhealthy food items in chain-brand supermarkets outlets.</p
Examining the relationship between the food environment and adult diabetes prevalence by county economic and racial composition: an ecological study
Overweight in men and women among urban area residents: individual factors and socioeconomic context
Food store ownersâ and managersâ perspectives on the food environment: an exploratory mixed-methods study
The changing food outlet distributions and local contextual factors in the United States
Individual and environmental factors associated for overweight in urban population of Brazil
Background: Obesity is a significant global public health problem and the main cause of many chronic diseases in
both developed and developing countries. The increase in obesity in different populations worldwide cannot be
explained solely by metabolic and genetic factors; environmental and social factors also have a strong association
with obesity. Thus, it is believed that the current obesity epidemic is the result of a complex combination of
genetic factors and an obesogenic environment .The purpose of this study was to evaluate individual variables and
variables within the built and social environment for their potential association with overweight and obesity in an
urban Brazilian population.
Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 3404 adults living in the urban area of the city.
Information from the surveillance system for chronic diseases of Brazilian Ministry of Health was used and individual
data was collected by telephone interviews. The database was geocoded using the Brazilian System of Postal Codes
for participant residences. An updated, existing list based on the current addresses of supermarkets and
hypermarkets in the city was used as an indicator variable of the availability and access to food. Georeferenced
information on parks, public squares, places for practicing physical activity and the population density were also
used to create data on the built environment. To characterize the social environment, we used the health
vulnerability index (HVI) and georeferenced data for homicide locations.
Results: The prevalence was 44% for overweight, poisson regression was used to create the final model. The
environment variables that independently associated with overweight were the highest population density, very
high health vulnerability index and the homicide rate adjusted for individuals variables. The results of the current
study illustrate and confirm some important associations between individual and environmental variables and
overweight in a representative sample of adults in the Brazilian urban context.
Conclusions: The social environment variables relating to the socioeconomic deprivation of the neighborhood and
the built environment variables relating to higher walkability were significantly associated with overweight and
obesity in Belo Horizonte.This study was funded by Brazilian Ministry of Health (number 134/209). G.
Velåsquez- Meléndez is researcher from the National Council for Scientific
and Technological Development (CNPQ) and the Fundação de Amparo Ă
Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)