Identifying Retail Food Stores to Evaluate the Food Environment

AbstractObjectiveObtaining valid, reliable measures of food environments that serve Latino communities is important for understanding barriers to healthy eating in this at-risk population.DesignThe primary aim of the study was to examine agreement between retail food outlet data from two commercial databases, Nielsen TDLinx (TDLinx) for food stores and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) for food stores and restaurants, relative to field observations of food stores and restaurants in thirty-one census tracts in Durham County, NC, USA. We also examined differences by proportion of Hispanic population (</≥23·4 % Hispanic population) in the census tract and for outlets classified in the field as ‘Latino’ on the basis of signage and use of Spanish language.SettingOne hundred and seventy-four food stores and 337 restaurants in Durham County, NC, USA.ResultsWe found that overall sensitivity of food store listings in TDLinx was higher (64 %) than listings in D&B (55 %). Twenty-five food stores were characterized by auditors as Latino food stores, with 20 % identified in TDLinx, 52 % in D&B and 56 % in both sources. Overall sensitivity of restaurants (68 %) was higher than sensitivity of Latino restaurants (38 %) listed in D&B. Sensitivity did not differ substantially by Hispanic composition of neighbourhoods.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that while TDLinx and D&B commercial data sources perform well for total food stores, they perform less well in identifying small and independent food outlets, including many Latino food stores and restaurants.

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Spatial inequalities of retail food stores may determine availability of healthful food choices in a Brazilian metropolis

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021002706 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-25

Author(s):

Mariana Souza Lopes ◽

Waleska Teixeira Caiaffa ◽

Amanda Cristina de Souza Andrade ◽

Ariene Silva do Carmo ◽

Sharrelle Barber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Residential Segregation ◽

Food Environment ◽

Food Choices ◽

Food Stores ◽

Economic Segregation ◽

Spatial Inequalities ◽

Proportional Odds Models ◽

Belo Horizonte ◽

Retail Food ◽

Healthful Food

Abstract Objective: To examine the association between economic residential segregation and food environment. Design: Ecological. Food stores categorized according to the NOVA classification were geocoded, and absolute availability was calculated for each neighborhood. Segregation was measured using local Gi* statistic, a measure of the standard deviation (SD) between the economic composition of a neighborhood (the proportion of heads of households in neighborhoods earn monthly income of 0 to 3 minimum wages) and larger metropolitan area, weighted by the economic composition of surrounding neighborhoods. Segregation was categorized as high [most segregated], medium [integrated], and low [less segregated or integrated]. A proportional odds models were used to model the association between segregation and food environment. Setting: Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Participants: Food stores. Results: After adjustment for covariates, neighborhoods characterized by high economic segregation had fewer food stores overall compared to neighborhoods characterized by low segregation [OR=0.56;CI95%=0.45-0.69]. In addition, high segregated neighborhoods were 49% (OR=0.51;95%CI=0.42–0.61) and 45% (OR=0.55;95% CI=0.45–0.67) less likely to have a high number of food stores that predominantly marketed ultra-processed foods and mixed food stores, respectively, as compared to their counterparts. Conclusions: Economic segregation is associated with differences in the distribution of food stores. Both low and high segregation territories should be prioritized by public policies to ensure healthy and adequate nutrition as a right for all communities. The former must continue to be protected from access to unhealthy commercial food outlets while the latter must be the locus of actions that limit the availability of unhealthy commercial food store.

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Local Retail Food Environment and Consumption of Fruit and Vegetable among Adults in Hong Kong

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15102247 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (10) ◽

pp. 2247 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ting Zhang ◽

Bo Huang

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Grocery Stores ◽

Fruit Consumption ◽

Retail Food Environment ◽

Convenience Stores ◽

Fast Food Restaurants ◽

Retail Food

Outside of western countries, the study of the local food environment and evidence for its association with dietary behavior is limited. The aim of this paper was to examine the association between the local retail food environment and consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV) among adults in Hong Kong. Local retail food environment was measured by density of different types of retail food outlets (grocery stores, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants) within a 1000 m Euclidean buffer around individual’s homes using a geographic information system (GIS). The Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) was calculated based on the relative density of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores to grocery stores. Logistic regressions were performed to examine associations using cross-sectional data of 1977 adults (18 years or older). Overall, people living in an area with the highest RFEI (Q4, >5.76) had significantly greater odds of infrequent FV consumption (<7 days/week) after covariates adjustment (infrequent fruit consumption: OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.04–1.78; infrequent vegetable consumption: OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.11–2.68) in comparison to the lowest RFEI (Q1, <2.25). Highest density of fast food restaurants (Q4, >53) was also significantly associated with greater odds of infrequent fruit consumption (<7 days/week) (unadjusted model: OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.04–1.73), relative to lowest density of fast food restaurants (Q1, <13). No significant association of density of grocery stores or convenience stores was observed with infrequent FV consumption regardless of the covariates included in the model. Our results suggest that the ratio of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores to grocery stores near people’s home is an important environmental factor in meeting fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines. “Food swamps” (areas with an abundance of unhealthy foods) rather than “food deserts” (areas where there is limited access to healthy foods) seems to be more of a problem in Hong Kong’s urban areas. We advanced international literature by providing evidence in a non-western setting.

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Differences in the Neighborhood Retail Food Environment and Obesity Among US Children and Adolescents by SNAP Participation

Obesity ◽

10.1002/oby.22184 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 1063-1071 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Mary T. Gorski Findling ◽

Julia A. Wolfson ◽

Eric B. Rimm ◽

Sara N. Bleich

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Food Environment ◽

Retail Food Environment ◽

Us Children ◽

Retail Food

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Desenvolvimento e validação de instrumento para avaliar o impacto de um programa de intervenção em comércios de alimentos em área de deserto alimentar/Development and validity of an instrument to evaluate the impact of an intervention in food stores at an urban food desert

Revista Geografares ◽

10.7147/geo25.17604 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 396-411

Author(s):

Lucas Daniel Sanches ◽

Renata Fagundes Lopes ◽

Matheus Ribeiro Theodósio Fernandes Melzer ◽

Maria Aparecida De Oliveira ◽

Paula Andrea Martins

Keyword(s):

Distribution System ◽

Food Environment ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Local Community ◽

Food Distribution ◽

Food Desert ◽

Health Food ◽

Food Stores ◽

Cronbach Alpha ◽

The Impact

ResumoObjetivou-se desenvolver e validar um instrumento adequado para avaliar o impacto de um programa piloto de intervenção no ambiente alimentar local para promoção da alimentação saudável em comércios de varejo de alimentos da Zona Noroeste em Santos/SP, região caracterizada como deserto alimentar. Foi realizada pesquisa formativa para validação do instrumento, incluindo reuniões de pesquisadores, varredura no território estudado para identificação dos comércios de alimentos, visitas a atores do canal de distribuição de alimentos, oficinas comunitárias com a comunidade local e entrevistas em profundidade com proprietários dos estabelecimentos para validação de conteúdo e validade aparente. Foi testada confiabilidade do instrumento por coeficiente de alfa de Cronbach. O desenvolvimento do questionário incluiu questões para avaliação da Identificação e Caracterização do Comércio; Parâmetros de Comercialização, incluindo importância de fatores para a inclusão de um novo alimento, frequência de aquisição de produtos, rentabilidade; e Escala de Fatores Psicossociais, incluindo expectativa em relação às vendas de alimentos saudáveis, expectativa em relação ao impacto, e autoeficácia em relação à comercialização de alimentos saudáveis. A validação permitiu revisão de todas as questões e alternativas de resposta do questionário, com alfa de Cronbach variante de 0,440 a 0,967 nas questões do instrumento final. Este resultado indica que o instrumento proposto foi capaz de identificar características relevantes do sistema de distribuição de alimentos á nível local e pode ser utilizado em estudos epidemiológicos para avaliação de políticas públicas territoriais elaboradas para aumento do acesso a alimentos saudáveis.Palavras-chave: Estudos de Validação; Saúde da População Urbana; Ambiente Alimentar AbstractThe objective was to develop and validate a culturally appropriate instrument to evaluate the impact of a pilot intervention program in the food environment to promote healthy eating in small food stores in an urban food desert. A formative research was carried out for the validation of the instrument, including meetings of researchers, visits to all the streets in the study's region to identify food stores, visits to food distribution system agents', community workshops with the local community and in-depth interviews with food store owners for content and apparent validity. Instrument reliability was tested by Cronbach alpha coefficient. The development of the instrument included questions to evaluate the Identification and Characterization of Store; Marketing Parameters (i.e. influencers for including new food itens and frequency of product acquisition and profitability); and Psychosocial Factors Scale (i.e. expectations regarding healthy food sales, expectations regarding impact of intervention, and self-efficacy in relation to the marketing of healthy foods). Validation process allowed a review of all questions and questions' responses, with Cronbach alpha between 0.440 to 0.967 in the final instrument questions. It can be concluded that the instrument was developed to identify relevant characteristics of the food distribution system and can be used in epidemiological studies and public policies to evaluate increase access to healthy foods.Key words:Validation Studies; Urban Health; Food Environment

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The Influence of WIC Changes on the Retail Food Environment in New Orleans

The FASEB Journal ◽

10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.98.5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 25 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Diego Rose ◽

Lauren Futrell Dunaway ◽

Adriana Dornelles ◽

Keelia O'Malley ◽

J. Nicholas Bodor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Orleans ◽

Food Environment ◽

Retail Food Environment ◽

Retail Food

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Government data v. ground observation for food-environment assessment: businesses missed and misreported by city and state inspection records

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980019002982 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (8) ◽

pp. 1414-1427 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sean C Lucan ◽

Andrew R Maroko ◽

Courtney Abrams ◽

Noemi Rodriguez ◽

Achint N Patel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Food Environment ◽

State Inspection ◽

Street Vendors ◽

Food Stores ◽

Ground Observation ◽

Government Data ◽

Government Records ◽

Street Segments

AbstractObjective:To assess the accuracy of government inspection records, relative to ground observation, for identifying businesses offering foods/drinks.Design:Agreement between city and state inspection records v. ground observations at two levels: businesses and street segments. Agreement could be ‘strict’ (by business name, e.g. ‘Rizzo’s’) or ‘lenient’ (by business type, e.g. ‘pizzeria’); using sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) for businesses and using sensitivity, PPV, specificity and negative predictive value (NPV) for street segments.Setting:The Bronx and the Upper East Side (UES), New York City, USA.Participants:All food/drink-offering businesses on sampled street segments (n 154 in the Bronx, n 51 in the UES).Results:By ‘strict’ criteria, sensitivity and PPV of government records for food/drink-offering businesses were 0·37 and 0·57 in the Bronx; 0·58 and 0·60 in the UES. ‘Lenient’ values were 0·40 and 0·62 in the Bronx; 0·60 and 0·62 in the UES. Sensitivity, PPV, specificity and NPV of government records for street segments having food/drink-offering businesses were 0·66, 0·73, 0·84 and 0·79 in the Bronx; 0·79, 0·92, 0·67, and 0·40 in the UES. In both areas, agreement varied by business category: restaurants; ‘food stores’; and government-recognized other storefront businesses (‘gov. OSB’, i.e. dollar stores, gas stations, pharmacies). Additional business categories – ‘other OSB’ (barbers, laundromats, newsstands, etc.) and street vendors – were absent from government records; together, they represented 28·4 % of all food/drink-offering businesses in the Bronx, 22·2 % in the UES (‘other OSB’ and street vendors were sources of both healthful and less-healthful foods/drinks in both areas).Conclusions:Government records frequently miss or misrepresent businesses offering foods/drinks, suggesting caveats for food-environment assessments using such records.

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Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of the Perceived Nutrition Environment Measures Survey to the Mediterranean Spanish Context (NEMS-P-MED)

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12113257 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 3257

Author(s):

Alba Martínez-García ◽

Eva María Trescastro-López ◽

María Eugenia Galiana-Sánchez ◽

Cristóbal Llorens-Ivorra ◽

Pamela Pereyra-Zamora

Keyword(s):

Internal Consistency ◽

Food Environment ◽

Internal Consistency Reliability ◽

Food Environments ◽

Food Stores ◽

Nutrition Environment ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Measurement Tools ◽

Effective Policy ◽

Standardized Measurement

Individuals’ perceptions of their food environments are a mediator between exposure to the environment and people’s interaction with it. The Nutrition Environment Measures Surveys (NEMS) are valid and reliable measures to assess food environments. In Spain, there is no adapted instrument to measure the perceived obesogenic environment. This article aims to adapt and evaluate the Perceived Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for a Spanish context (NEMS-P-MED). The Spanish version has 32 questions to measure the perception about availability, accessibility and marketing of 3 types of environment: home, shops and restaurants. We assess feasibility, construct validity and internal consistency reliability through a sample of 95 individuals. The internal consistency was acceptable for most items (Cronbach’s alpha coefficients range from 0.6 to 0.9), similar to that of the original scale. The NEMS-P-MED has been shown to be valid and, on certain items reliable, and was useful to assess the population’s perceptions of the food environment in the home, restaurants and food stores in a Spanish context. Adapting standardized measurement tools to specific contexts to assess the perceived and observed characteristics of food environments may facilitate the development of effective policy interventions to reduce excess weight.

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Retail Food Environment Intervention Planning: Interviews With Owners and Managers of Small- and Medium-Sized Rural Food Stores

Health Promotion Practice ◽

10.1177/1524839920910376 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 152483992091037

Author(s):

Rebecca Hasdell ◽

Blake Poland ◽

Donald Cole ◽

Flo Sheppard ◽

Laurel Burton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Business Models ◽

Planning Process ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Local Context ◽

Rural And Remote ◽

Remote Region ◽

Food Stores ◽

Intervention Planning ◽

Retail Food

Retail food environments are an important setting for promoting healthier diets and reducing the global burden of diet-related disease. The purpose of this 2-year community–university partnership was to develop a health promotion intervention for stores in a rural and remote region of British Columbia, Canada. This article reports on the qualitative interviews that were conducted with retail operators as part of an intervention planning process. Seven in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with store owners and managers of small- and medium-sized stores in a rural and remote region. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify business operations and practices relevant to intervention planning and implementation. Relevant considerations for health promotion planners included the unique business models of rural stores; the prominence of regional travel and “outshopping” in rural and remote regions; challenges balancing between choice, value, and profitability; relationships with suppliers; and using local products to attract and retain customers. Involving retailers in settings-based approaches to improve population nutrition may help to mobilize existing practices and ensure that interventions are responsive to local context.

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Characterizing the food environment: pitfalls and future directions

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980013000773 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. 1238-1243 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Anne Vernez Moudon ◽

Adam Drewnowski ◽

Glen E Duncan ◽

Philip M Hurvitz ◽

Brian E Saelens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Health Department ◽

Food Sources ◽

Future Research ◽

Grocery Stores ◽

Local Health ◽

King County ◽

Potential Health ◽

Food Stores

AbstractObjectiveTo assess a county population's exposure to different types of food sources reported to affect both diet quality and obesity rates.DesignFood permit records obtained from the local health department served to establish the full census of food stores and restaurants. Employing prior categorization schemes which classified the relative healthfulness of food sources based on establishment type (i.e. supermarkets v. convenience stores, or full-service v. fast-food restaurants), food establishments were assigned to the healthy, unhealthy or undetermined groups.SettingKing County, WA, USA.SubjectsFull census of food sources.ResultsAccording to all categorization schemes, most food establishments in King County fell into the unhealthy and undetermined groups. Use of the food permit data showed that large stores, which included supermarkets as healthy food establishments, contained a sizeable number of bakery/delis, fish/meat, ethnic and standard quick-service restaurants and coffee shops, all food sources that, when housed in a separate venue or owned by a different business establishment, were classified as either unhealthy or of undetermined value to health.ConclusionsTo fully assess the potential health effects of exposure to the extant food environment, future research would need to establish the health value of foods in many such common establishments as individually owned grocery stores and ethnic food stores and restaurants. Within-venue exposure to foods should also be investigated.

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