Reliability of an Audit Tool to Measure Healthy Food Availability in Food Outlets across Baltimore City

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 628-642
Author(s):  
Caitlin Misiaszek ◽  
Anton Kvit ◽  
Carrie Burns ◽  
Jamie Harding ◽  
Amanda Buczynski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Audit Tool ◽  
Baltimore City ◽  
Food Outlets ◽  
Healthy Food Availability

scholarly journals Beyond food swamps and food deserts: Exploring urban Australian food retail environment typologies

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Cindy Needham ◽  
Claudia Strugnell ◽  
Steven Allender ◽  
Liliana Orellana
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Food Deserts ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Food Retail ◽  
Retail Environment ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Food Outlets ◽  
Healthy Food Availability ◽  
Food Retail Environment

Abstract Objective: ‘Food deserts’ and ‘food swamps’ are food retail environment typologies associated with unhealthy diet and obesity. This study aimed to identify more complex food retail environment typologies and examine temporal trends. Design: Measures of food retail environment accessibility and relative healthy food availability were defined for small areas (SA2s) of Melbourne, Australia from a census of food outlets operating in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2016. SA2s were classified into typologies using a two-stage approach: 1) SA2s were sorted into 20 clusters according to accessibility and availability; 2) clusters were grouped using evidence-based thresholds. Setting: This study was set in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. Subjects: Food retail environments in 301 small areas (Statistical Area 2) located in Melbourne in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2016. Results: Six typologies were identified based on access (low, moderate and high) and healthy food availability including one where zero food outlets were present. Over the study period SA2s experienced an overall increase in accessibility and healthiness. Distribution of typologies varied by geographic location and area-level socioeconomic position. Conclusion: Multiple typologies with contrasting access and healthiness measures exist within Melbourne and these continue to change over time, the majority of SA2s were dominated by the presence of unhealthy relative to healthy outlets; with SA2s experiencing growth and disadvantage having the lowest access and to a greater proportion of unhealthy outlets.

scholarly journals Association of Home Food Availability with Prediabetes and Diabetes among Adults in the United States

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1209
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. McAtee ◽  
Meng-Hua Tao ◽  
Christian King ◽  
Weiwen Chai
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Low Fat ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Healthy Food Availability ◽  
Home Food ◽  
Home Food Availability

This study examined associations of home food availabilities with prediabetes and diabetes among 8929 adults (20–70 years) participating in 2007–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated by logistic regression. Relative to non-diabetic participants (individuals without diabetes or prediabetes), prediabetes participants were associated with lower availabilities of green vegetables (OR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.73–0.91; p = 0.0006) and fat-free/low-fat milk (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.89; p = 0.001) and higher sugary drink availability (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.04–1.48; p = 0.02), adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity (Model 1). The associations remained significant for vegetables (p = 0.005) and fat-free/low-fat milk (p = 0.02) adjusting for additional confounders (body mass index, education, Model 2). Adjusting for dietary components did not change the above results (in model 2) significantly. Participants with high healthy food availability scores had approximately 31% reduction (p = 0.003) in odds of prediabetes compared to those with low scores in Model 1. No associations were detected for diabetes except for fat-free/low-fat milk availability, for which an inverse association was observed in Model 1 (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.99; p = 0.04). The results show prediabetes participants had lower availability of healthy foods and higher availability of unhealthy foods, suggesting the need to improve healthy food availability at home for this population.

A Rural Small Food Store Pilot Intervention Creates Trends Toward Improved Healthy Food Availability

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Anderson Steeves ◽  
Erin Penniston ◽  
Megan Rowan ◽  
Jeremy Steeves ◽  
Joel Gittelsohn
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Food Store ◽  
Healthy Food Availability ◽  
Pilot Intervention

scholarly journals Consumers' Perceptions of Healthy Food Availability in Online Food Delivery Applications (OFD Apps) and Its Association With Food Choices Among Public University Students in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Zhen Rong Eu ◽  
Mohd Jamil Sameeha
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Public University ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Healthy Food Availability ◽  
Significant Difference

This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to study consumers' perceptions of healthy food availability in online food delivery applications (OFD apps) among public university students in Malaysia and its association with their food choices. A total of 290 subjects aged 19–29 years old were recruited from 20 public universities in Malaysia via snowball sampling. Data was collected through an online questionnaire which consisted of socio-demographic status, use of OFD apps (most frequently used brand, usage frequency, food choice, and expenditure per transaction), factors affecting food choice in OFD apps, consumers' perceptions of healthy food availability in OFD apps and recommendation for improvements. The most frequently used apps among the subjects was Food Panda (46.6%), however, majority of the subjects in this study (41.4%) rarely used OFD apps. Also, most of the subjects ordered unhealthy food (77.6%) and spent up to RM15–RM19 for each transaction (43.1%). There was no significant difference between the use of OFD apps and gender (p > 0.05). Among the five food choice motives, “price and convenience” motive was the most influencing food choice factor in OFD apps. Majority of the subjects (76.9%) had a negative perception of healthy food availability (variety, price, and quality of healthy food) in OFD apps. No significant association was found between consumers' perceptions of healthy food availability in OFD apps and their food choices made in OFD apps among the subjects in this study (p > 0.05). Also, majority (85.9%) responded they are keen to purchase healthy foods through OFD apps if they are given an option. However, most Malaysian public university students perceived that there were not much variety of healthy food, of good quality and affordable price, available in OFD apps. This finding suggests that the online food environment in Malaysia are perceived as unhealthy. Future studies can explore the online food environment particularly its impact on community health and well-being. Public health professionals and policymakers need to address the online food environment issues as part of the obesogenic food environment in Malaysia especially when OFD is one of the most convenient service in this country.

Abstract P312: Measuring the Food, Tobacco, Alcohol and Physical Activity Urban Environments in Relation to Cardiovascular Health: The Heart Healthy Hoods Pilot Study in Madrid, Spain

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Diez ◽  
Usama Bilal ◽  
Pedro Gullon ◽  
Silvia Alfayate ◽  
Esperanza Escortell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Health Profile ◽  
Physical Activity Environment ◽  
Healthy Food Availability

Introduction: Several features of the residential environment have been related to cardiovascular risk. This pilot study tested the feasibility of measuring four specific domains of the urban environment (food, tobacco, alcohol and physical activity) in 12 census sections within the Heart Healthy Hoods Study in Madrid, Spain. Methods: 12 census sections within the city limits of Madrid were selected using the Median Neighborhood Index (MNI). The MNI selects median clusters (in terms of aging, education, segregation and urban form) of contiguous areas within a city using the SaTSCAN statistic. Well-trained data collectors conducted the fieldwork during 3 weeks. To assess the food environment they collected data on the number and type of stores as well as the healthy food availability within stores, using an abbreviated and adapted version of the NEMS-S inventory. For the tobacco and alcohol environment they collected data on the type and number of points of sale. For the physical activity environment they directly measured the attributes of 169 street segments associated with walking and cycling within the 12 census sections using the SPACES inventory. The same tool was used to virtually assess the 169 segments using Google Street View. All data collected were geolocated to produce relevant maps. The cardiovascular health profile of the residents over 40 was assessed using the Primary Care Electronic Health Records from two Health Care Center in the area. Results: The food environment included 2 public markets, 41 food stores and 61 food places. In terms of healthy food availability (score ranges from 0-27), the assessed stores had a mean score of 12.03, higher for supermarkets compared to other types of stores. The tobacco and alcohol environment included 64 and 94 points of sale respectively. The physical activity environment score includes function, safety, aesthetics and destinations for walking and cycling. For walking, the total score has a mean of 4.27 (ranges from 0-6.96); and 3.50 (ranges from 0-5.97) for cycling. Of the 15715 residents living in the study area, 23,4% were above 65 years of age, 49,6% did not complete secondary education, and 25,9% were foreign-born. The cardiovascular health profile of 8357 residents over 40 showed the following prevalence estimates: Obesity 9.3%, Diabetes 10.4%, Hypertension 29.8%, Hypercholesterolemia 28.7%. Conclusions: This pilot study showed a feasible way to measure four important features of the Urban Environment (food, tobacco, alcohol and physical activity) in direct relation to Cardiovascular Health. We aim to use these assessment tools for the future Heart Healthy Hoods Study that will be conducted in 90 neighborhoods of Madrid in order to study the effect of residential environments on the cardiovascular health of its residents.

scholarly journals The mismatch between observational measures and residents’ perspectives on the retail food environment: a mixed-methods approach in the Heart Healthy Hoods study

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 2970-2979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Díez ◽  
Roberto Valiente ◽  
Carmen Ramos ◽  
Reyes García ◽  
Joel Gittelsohn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Retail Food Environment ◽  
Observational Measures ◽  
Healthy Food Availability ◽  
Retail Food

AbstractObjectiveTo gain a deeper understanding of the retail food environment by investigating similarities and differences between objective measures and residents’ perspectives.DesignThe study incorporated Geographic Information System (GIS)-based measures, in-store surveys and the results from a larger photovoice project. We combined these data using a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach.SettingWe conducted this study in a low-income neighbourhood in Madrid (Spain) in 2016.SubjectsWe assessed healthy food availability, accessibility and affordability using GIS-based measures and in-store audits. We also analysed the photographs and discussions from twelve participants who engaged in a photovoice project on their food environment.ResultsQuantitative results depicted a widely served and highly accessible retail food environment, in which supermarkets scored highest in terms of healthy food availability (36·5 out of 39) and 98·9 % of residents could access a healthy food store within a walking travel distance of less than 15 min. Qualitative results showed that participants preferred small local businesses over supermarkets, and revealed built environment obstacles for elderly residents. They also highlighted how the socio-economic context constrained residents’ food choices.ConclusionsPeople’s experienced retail food environment is different from the one quantitatively analysed. Results show the potential of using a mixed-methods approach to enrich food environment research and enhance public health interventions.

scholarly journals Healthy food availability and the association with BMI in Baltimore, Maryland

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1001-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Stark Casagrande ◽  
Manuel Franco ◽  
Joel Gittelsohn ◽  
Alan B Zonderman ◽  
Michele K Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predominantly White ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Nutrition Environment ◽  
Healthy Food Availability

AbstractObjectiveTo study the association between the availability of healthy foods and BMI by neighbourhood race and socio-economic status (SES).DesignTrained staff collected demographic information, height, weight and 24 h dietary recalls between 2004 and 2008. Healthy food availability was determined in thirty-four census tracts of varying racial and SES composition using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey–Stores in 2007. Multilevel linear regression was used to estimate associations between healthy food availability and BMI.SettingBaltimore City, Maryland, USA.SubjectsAdults aged 30–64 years (n 2616) who participated in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study.ResultsAmong individuals living in predominantly white neighbourhoods, high availability of healthy foods was associated with significantly higher BMI compared with individuals living in neighbourhoods with low availability of healthy food after adjustment for demographic variables (β = 3·22, P = 0·001). Associations were attenuated but remained significant after controlling for dietary quality (β = 2·81, P = 0·012).ConclusionsContrary to expectations, there was a positive association between the availability of healthy food and higher BMI among individuals living in predominantly white neighbourhoods. This result could be due to individuals in neighbourhoods with low healthy food availability travelling outside their neighbourhood to obtain healthy food.

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