Neighborhood Food Environments and Body Mass Index (original) (raw)

Neighborhood Food Environments and Body Mass Index. The Importance of In-Store Contents

2009

Background-Most public health studies on the neighborhood food environment have focused on types of stores and their geographic placement, yet marketing research has long documented the influence of in-store shelf-space on consumer behavior. Purpose-This paper combines these two strands of research to test whether the aggregate availability of specific foods in a neighborhood is associated with the BMIs of its residents. Methods-Fielded from October 2004 to August 2005, this study combines mapping of retail food outlets, in-store surveys, and telephone interviews of residents from 103 randomly sampled urban census tracts in southeastern Louisiana. Linear shelf-space of fruits, vegetables, and energy-dense snack foods was measured in 307 food stores in the study tracts. Residential addresses, demographic information, and heights and weights were obtained from 1243 respondents through telephone interviews. Cumulative shelf-space of foods within defined distances of each respondent was calculated using observations from the in-store survey and probability-based assignments of shelfspace to all unobserved stores in the area. Results-After controlling for sociodemographic variables, income, and car ownership, regression analysis, conducted in 2008, showed that cumulative shelf-space availability of energy-dense snack foods was positively, although modestly, associated with BMI. A 100-meter increase in shelf-space of these foods within 1 kilometer of a respondent's household was associated with an additional 0.1 BMI points. Fruit and vegetable shelf-space was not significantly related to BMI.

Neighborhood Food Environment, Diet, and Obesity Among Los Angeles County Adults, 2011

Preventing Chronic Disease, 2015

Introduction The objective of this study was to examine whether an association exists between the number and type of food outlets in a neighborhood and dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) among adults in Los Angeles County. We also assessed whether this association depends on the geographic size of the food environment. Methods We analyzed data from the 2011 Los Angeles County Health Survey. We created buffers (from 0.25 to 3.0 miles in radius) centered in respondents' residential addresses and counted the number of food outlets by type in each buffer. Dependent variables were weekly intake of fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast food; BMI; and being overweight (BMI ≥25.0 kg/ m 2) or obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m 2). Explanatory variables were the number of outlets classified as fast-food outlets, convenience stores, small food stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets. Regressions were estimated for all sets of explanatory variables and buffer size combinations (150 total effects). Results Only 2 of 150 effects were significant after being adjusted for multiple comparisons. The number of fast-food restaurants in nonwalkable areas (in a 3.0-mile radius) was positively associated with fast-food consumption, and the number of convenience stores in a walkable distance (in a 0.25-mile radius) was negatively associated with obesity. Discussion Little evidence was found for associations between proximity of respondents' homes to food outlets and dietary intake or BMI among adults in Los Angeles County. A possible explanation for the null finding is that shopping patterns are weakly related to neighborhoods in Los Angeles County because of motorized transportation.

Neighbourhood food environments and obesity in southeast Louisiana

Health & Place, 2012

Supermarkets might influence food choices, and more distal outcomes like obesity, by increasing the availability of healthy foods. However, recent evidence about their effects is ambiguous, perhaps because supermarkets also increase the availability of unhealthy options. We develop an alternative measure of food environment quality that characterizes urban neighborhoods by the relative amounts of healthy (e.g. fruits and vegetables) to unhealthy foods (e.g. energy-dense snacks). Using data from 307 food stores and 1243 telephone interviews with residents in urban southeastern Louisiana, we estimate a multilevel multinomial logistic model for overweight status. We find that higher quality food environments-but not food store types-decrease the risk of obesity (RR 0.474, 95% CI 0.269-0.835) and overweight (RR 0.532, 95% CI 0.312-0.907). The findings suggest a need to move beyond a sole consideration of food store types to a more nuanced view of the food environment when planning for change.

Neighborhood Food Environment and Walkability Predict Obesity in New York City

Environmental Health Perspectives, 2008

Background: Differences in the neighborhood food environment may contribute to disparities in obesity. oBjectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of neighborhood food environments with body mass index (BMI) and obesity after control for neighborhood walkability. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional, multilevel analysis of BMI and obesity among 13,102 adult residents of New York City. We constructed measures of the food environment and walkability for the neighborhood, defined as a half-mile buffer around the study subject's home address. results: Density of BMI-healthy food outlets (supermarkets, fruit and vegetable markets, and natural food stores) was inversely associated with BMI. Mean adjusted BMI was similar in the first two quintiles of healthy food density (0 and 1.13 stores/km 2 , respectively), but declined across the three higher quintiles and was 0.80 units lower [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.27-1.32] in the fifth quintile (10.98 stores/km 2 ) than in the first. The prevalence ratio for obesity comparing the fifth quintile of healthy food density with the lowest two quintiles combined was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.78-0.97). These associations remained after control for two neighborhood walkability measures, population density and land-use mix. The prevalence ratio for obesity for the fourth versus first quartile of population density was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.73-0.96) and for land-use mix was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.86-0.97). Increasing density of food outlets categorized as BMI-unhealthy was not significantly associated with BMI or obesity. conclusions: Access to BMI-healthy food stores is associated with lower BMI and lower prevalence of obesity. key words: neighborhood studies, obesity, retail food environment, walkability. Environ Health Perspect 117:442-447 (2009). doi:10.1289/ehp.11590 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 2 October 2008]

Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of food stores and food service places

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2002

Background: Although the relationship between diet and disease is well established, sustainable dietary changes that would affect risk for disease have been difficult to achieve. Whereas individual factors are traditional explanations for the inability of some people to change dietary habits, little research has investigated how the physical availability of healthy foods affects individuals' diets. This study examines the distribution of food stores and food service places by neighborhood wealth and racial segregation.

Childhood Obesity and Neighborhood Food-Store Availability in an Inner-City Community

Academic Pediatrics, 2009

Objective.-Prior studies have shown an association between fast-food restaurants and adolescent body size. Less is known about the influence of neighborhood food stores on a child's body size. We hypothesized that in the inner-city, minority community of East Harlem, New York, the presence of convenience stores and fast-food restaurants near a child's home is associated with increased risk for childhood obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI).

Changes in neighbourhood food store environment, food behaviour and body mass index, 1981–1990

Public Health Nutrition, 2007

ObjectiveThis paper examines trends in the neighbourhood food store environment (defined by the number and geographic density of food stores of each type in a neighbourhood), and in food consumption behaviour and overweight risk of 5779 men and women.DesignThe study used data gathered by the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program in four cross-sectional surveys conducted from 1981 to 1990.SettingFour mid-sized cities in agricultural regions of California.SubjectsIn total, 3154 women and 2625 men, aged 25–74 years.ResultsFrom 1981 to 1990, there were large increases in the number and density of neighbourhood stores selling sweets, pizza stores, small grocery stores and fast-food restaurants. During this period, the percentage of women and men who adopted healthy food behaviours increased but so did the percentage who adopted less healthy food behaviours. The percentage who were obese increased by 28% in women and 24% in men.ConclusionFindings point to increases in neighbourhood fo...

The neighborhood food environment: sources of historical data on retail food stores

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2006

With the rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States, and the minimal success of education-based interventions, there is growing interest in understanding the role of the neighborhood food environment in determining dietary behavior. This study, as part of a larger study, identifies historical data on retail food stores, evaluates strengths and limitations of the data for research, and assesses the comparability of historical retail food store data from a government and a commercial source. Five government and commercial listings of retail food stores were identified. The California State Board of Equalization (SBOE) database was selected and then compared to telephone business directory listings. The Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the congruency of food store counts per census tract between the SBOE and telephone business directory databases. The setting was four cities in Northern California, 1979-1990. The SBOE and telephone business d...