No new fast-food outlets allowed! The effect of local area planning policy on the healthiness of the local food environment

The obesogenic environment stimulates an inadequate diet by hampering healthy choices. This cross-sectional study evaluated the association between the local food environment and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a representative sample population of adolescents living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, using multilevel logistic regression models. Among the adolescents, 29.6% were overweight/obese. There were no significant differences between food environment and adolescents’ weight status. However, the presence of fast food restaurants near their home increased the chances of being overweight or obese (OR = 2.53; 95%CI: 1.02-6.27). Results suggest the need to intensify food and nutrition policies, development of culinary skills, and the reduction in prices of healthy foods to facilitate access to these foods, so that adolescents have options in locations to socialize with friends and family.

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Association between junk food consumption and fast-food outlet access near school among Quebec secondary-school children: findings from the Quebec Health Survey of High School Students (QHSHSS) 2010–11

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s136898001600286x ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 927-937 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Nicoleta Cutumisu ◽

Issouf Traoré ◽

Marie-Claude Paquette ◽

Linda Cazale ◽

Hélène Camirand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Secondary School ◽

School Children ◽

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Junk Food ◽

Food Outlet ◽

School Students ◽

Food Outlets

AbstractObjectiveWe investigated the association between junk food consumption at lunchtime (JCL) and fast-food outlet access near school among secondary-school children in Quebec.DesignA geographic information system database was used to characterize the food environment around a sub-sample of 374 public schools in which 26 655 students were enrolled. The outcome variable was JCL during the previous week, dichotomized into low JCL (none or once)v. high JCL (twice or more). Access to fast-food outlets near school was assessed using an existing database of fast-food outlets in Quebec. Covariates included student (age, sex and self-rated perceived health), family (familial status and parental education) and school (urban/rural status and deprivation) variables. Hierarchical logistic regression models were employed for analyses using PROC GLIMMIX of SAS version 9.3.SettingProvince of Quebec, Canada.SubjectsWe used data from the Quebec Health Survey of High School Students (QHSHSS) 2010–11, a survey of secondary-school Quebec students.ResultsExposure to two or more fast-food outlets within a radius of 750 m around schools was associated with a higher likelihood of excess JCL (OR=1·50; 95 % CI 1·28, 1·75), controlling for the characteristics of the students, their families and their schools.ConclusionsThe food environment surrounding schools can constitute a target for interventions to improve food choices among secondary-school children living in the province of Quebec. Transforming environments around schools to promote healthy eating includes modifying zoning regulations that restrict access to fast-food outlets around schools.

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‘Nutrition is out of our control’: soldiers’ perceptions of their local food environment

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980019001381 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (15) ◽

pp. 2766-2776

Author(s):

Chizoba L Chukwura ◽

Theresa Jackson Santo ◽

Clarice N Waters ◽

Anne Andrews

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Local Food ◽

Portion Size ◽

Common Belief ◽

Us Army ◽

The Military ◽

Nutrition Behaviour

AbstractObjective:To explore the perceptions of soldiers participating in a US Army Office of The Surgeon General’s worksite health promotion programme (WHPP) on the local food environment within their campus-style workplace.Design:Focus groups were conducted to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the WHPP implementation. Further exploration of focus group data through thematic analysis focused on perceived contributions of the military campus-style food environment to soldiers’ nutrition behaviours.Setting:Three US Army installations located in the continental USA.Participants:Active duty soldiers (n 366) participating in one of the fifty-eight focus groups.Results:Soldiers shared a common belief of self-discipline and personal responsibility as the foothold to nutrition behaviour change. Soldiers described aspects of the military campus-style food environment as factors impeding achievement of optimal nutrition. Collectively, soldiers perceived the proximity and density of fast-food restaurants, lack of healthy alternatives on the installation and the cost of healthy food as inhibitors to choosing healthy foods. Overwhelmingly, soldiers also perceived time constraints as a factor contributing to unhealthy food choices.Conclusions:Although nutrition behaviour is individually driven, soldiers perceived the military campus-style food environment inhibits healthy decision making. Nutrition programming in military WHPP must integrate food environment changes to improve soldiers’ nutrition behaviour outcomes. Applicable to the military, food choice behaviour studies suggest environmental changes must be appealing to young adults. Considerations for environmental changes should include an increased portion size for healthy options, broadened use of soldiers’ daily food allowances on local produce and increased availability of grab-and-go options.

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Food Outlet Accessibility and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

American Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.4278/ajhp.101215-arb-401 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 366-370 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Nicholas J. Ollberding ◽

Claudio R. Nigg ◽

Karly S. Geller ◽

Caroline C. Horwath ◽

Rob W. Motl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Local Food ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Intake ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Spatial Access ◽

Food Outlets

Purpose. To examine if spatial access to healthy and unhealthy outlets comprising the local food environment was associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. Population-based sample residing in Hawaii. Subjects. Three hundred and eighty-four adults (36% Asian-American, 33% non-Hispanic white, 31% other/mixed race). Measures. A spatial model of the local food environment was constructed using radial buffers extending from participants' place of residence. Fruit and vegetable intake was estimated using the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable All-Day Screener. Analysis. Mean intakes of fruits and vegetables were compared for spatial access to total, healthy, and unhealthy food outlets at distances of .5 to 3.5 km. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate differences in fruit and vegetable intake for residing further from a food outlet or for residing in an area with a greater number of food outlets. Results. Residing in an area with a greater density of total or healthy food outlets was associated with a higher mean intake of fruits and vegetables (p < .05) at .5 km. No differences in mean intakes were detected for distances beyond .5 km or for regression models. Conclusion. Findings suggest that greater spatial accessibility to food outlets comprising the local food environment in Hawaii may not be meaningfully associated with fruit and vegetable consumption; however, associations were detected for the smallest spatial scale examined, warranting further investigation.

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Associations between residential food environment and dietary patterns in urban-dwelling older adults: results from the VoisiNuAge study

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s136898001200273x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (11) ◽

pp. 2026-2039 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Geneviève Mercille ◽

Lucie Richard ◽

Lise Gauvin ◽

Yan Kestens ◽

Bryna Shatenstein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Dietary Patterns ◽

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Food Source ◽

Food Sources ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Food Stores ◽

Food Outlets ◽

Healthful Food

AbstractObjectiveTo examine associations between the availability of residential-area food sources and dietary patterns among seniors.DesignCross-sectional analyses. Individual-level data from the NuAge study on nutrition and healthy ageing were merged with geographic information system data on food store availability and area-level social composition. Two dietary patterns reflecting lower- and higher-quality diets (respectively designated ‘western’ and ‘prudent’) were identified from FFQ data. Two food source relative availability measures were calculated for a 500 m road-network buffer around participants’ homes: (i) proportion of fast-food outlets (%FFO) relative to all restaurants and (ii) proportion of stores potentially selling healthful foods (%HFS, healthful food stores) relative to all food stores. Associations between dietary patterns and food source exposure were tested in linear regression models accounting for individual (health and sociodemographic) and area-level (socio-economic and ethnicity) covariates.SettingMontréal metropolitan area, Canada.SubjectsUrban-dwelling older adults (n 751), aged 68 to 84 years.Results%FFO was inversely associated with prudent diet (β = −0·105; P < 0·05) and this association remained statistically significant in models accounting for %HFS. %HFS was inversely associated with lower western diet scores (β = −0·124; P < 0·01). This latter association no longer reached significance once models were adjusted for area-level covariates.ConclusionsIn Montréal, the food environment is related to the diet of older adults but these links are more complex than straightforward. The absence of significant relationships between healthful food stores and prudent diets, and between fast-food outlets and western diets, deserves further investigation.

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The influence of the local food environment on diet following residential relocation: longitudinal results from RESIDential Environments (RESIDE)

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980019005111 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 2132-2144

Author(s):

Alexia Bivoltsis ◽

Gina Trapp ◽

Matthew Knuiman ◽

Paula Hooper ◽

Gina Leslie Ambrosini

Keyword(s):

Dietary Intake ◽

Food Environment ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Local Food ◽

Residential Development ◽

Healthy Food ◽

Unhealthy Food ◽

Food Outlets ◽

Convenience Stores ◽

Residential Environments

AbstractObjective:To examine the associations of changes in the local food environment, individual behaviours and perceptions with changes in dietary intake, following relocation from an established neighbourhood to a new residential development.Design:Spatial food environment exposure measures were generated relative to each participant’s home address using the locations of food outlets at baseline (before moving house) and follow-up (1–2 years after relocation). Self-reported data on socio-demographics, self-selection, usual dietary intake, individual behaviours and perceptions of the local food environment were sourced from the RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) Project. Changes in spatial exposure measures, individual behaviours and perceptions with changes in dietary outcomes were examined using mixed linear models.Setting:Perth, Western Australia, 2003–2007.Participants:Adults (n 1200) from the RESIDE Project.Results:Moving to a new residential development with more convenience stores and café restaurants around the home was significantly associated with an increase in unhealthy food intake (β = 0·049, 95 % CI 0·010, 0·089; β = 0·020, 95 % CI 0·007, 0·033) and was partially mediated by individual behaviours and perceptions. A greater percentage of healthy food outlets around the home following relocation was significantly associated with an increase in healthy food (β = 0·003, 95 % CI 0·001, 0·005) and fruit/vegetable intake (β = 0·002, 95 % CI 0·001, 0·004).Conclusions:Policy and planning may influence dietary intakes by restricting the number of convenience stores and other unhealthy food outlets and increasing the relative percentage of healthy food outlets.

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Abstract P266: The Local Food Environment and Obesity: A Systematic Review

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.131.suppl_1.p266 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 131 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Laura K Cobb ◽

Lawrence J Appel ◽

Manuel Franco ◽

Jessica C Jones-Smith ◽

Cheryl A Anderson

Keyword(s):

Food Availability ◽

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Local Food ◽

Grocery Stores ◽

Food Environments ◽

Study Quality ◽

The Us ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

Introduction: Numerous studies have explored the relationship of the local food environment and obesity. However, results have been inconsistent, and existing literature reviews have not taken into account study quality or the heterogeneity of measures of the local food environment. Methods: We used systematic keyword searches in Pubmed and Scopus to identify studies conducted in the US and Canada that assessed the relationship of obesity to the local availability of supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, fast food restaurants or indices combining these measures. We developed a quality metric based on study design, exposure and outcome measurement and analysis, and then assigned each study a score. Results: We identified 71 studies representing 65 cohorts. Overall, study quality was low; 60 studies were cross-sectional. The approach to measuring local food environments varied: fast food availability was measured 31 ways in 44 studies. Associations between food outlet availability and obesity were predominantly null. In adults, we saw a trend among the non-null associations toward inverse associations between supermarket availability and obesity (22 inverse, 4 direct, 67 null) and direct associations between fast food and obesity (29 direct, 6 inverse, 71 null). In children, we saw robust direct associations between fast food availability and obesity in lower income populations only (12 direct, 7 null). In adults, indices made up of multiple types of outlets had resulted in the most consistent associations with obesity (18 expected, 23 null). Limiting analyses to higher quality studies did not affect results. Conclusions: We found limited evidence for associations between the local food environment and obesity. Quality issues, however, make causal inference difficult. Absent compelling direct evidence linking local food environments to obesity, policy makers will need to rely on other types of evidence as they address the environmental changes that contribute to the steep increase in obesity in the US.

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Obesogenic neighbourhoods: the impact of neighbourhood restaurants and convenience stores on adolescents’ food consumption behaviours

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980012000584 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. 2331-2339 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Meizi He ◽

Patricia Tucker ◽

Jennifer D Irwin ◽

Jason Gilliland ◽

Kristian Larsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Healthy Eating Index ◽

Convenience Store ◽

Food Outlet ◽

Fast Food Outlet ◽

Food Outlets ◽

Convenience Stores ◽

Close Proximity ◽

The Impact

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the relationship between the neighbourhood food environment and dietary intake among adolescents.DesignCross-sectional design using: (i) a geographic information system to assess characteristics of the neighbourhood food environment and neighbourhood socio-economic status; (ii) the modified Healthy Eating Index (HEI) to assess participants’ overall diet quality; and (iii) generalized linear models to examine associations between HEI and home and school food environmental correlates.SettingMid-sized Canadian city in Ontario, Canada.ParticipantsGrade 7 and 8 students (n810) at twenty-one elementary schools.ResultsStudents living in neighbourhoods with a lower diversity of land-use types, compared with their higher diversity counterparts, had higher HEI scores (P< 0·05). Students with more than 1 km between their home and the nearest convenience store had higher HEI scores than those living within 1 km (P< 0·01). Students attending schools with a distance further than 1 km from the nearest convenience store (P< 0·01) and fast-food outlet (P< 0·05) had higher HEI scores than those within 1 km. Those attending schools with three or more fast-food outlets within 1 km had lower HEI scores than those attending schools with no fast-food outlet in the school surroundings (P< 0·05).ConclusionsClose proximity to convenience stores in adolescents’ home environments is associated with low HEI scores. Within adolescents’ school environments, close proximity to convenience and fast-food outlets and a high density of fast-food outlets are associated with low HEI scores.

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Census Tract Food Tweets and Chronic Disease Outcomes in the U.S., 2015–2018

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16060975 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 975 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yuru Huang ◽

Dina Huang ◽

Quynh C. Nguyen

Keyword(s):

Chronic Disease ◽

Census Tract ◽

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Application Programming Interface ◽

Local Area ◽

The United States ◽

Census Tracts ◽

Disease Outcomes ◽

Application Programming

There is a growing recognition of social media data as being useful for understanding local area patterns. In this study, we sought to utilize geotagged tweets—specifically, the frequency and type of food mentions—to understand the neighborhood food environment and the social modeling of food behavior. Additionally, we examined associations between aggregated food-related tweet characteristics and prevalent chronic health outcomes at the census tract level. We used a Twitter streaming application programming interface (API) to continuously collect ~1% random sample of public tweets in the United States. A total of 4,785,104 geotagged food tweets from 71,844 census tracts were collected from April 2015 to May 2018. We obtained census tract chronic disease outcomes from the CDC 500 Cities Project. We investigated associations between Twitter-derived food variables and chronic outcomes (obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure) using the median regression. Census tracts with higher average calories per tweet, less frequent healthy food mentions, and a higher percentage of food tweets about fast food had higher obesity and hypertension prevalence. Twitter-derived food variables were not predictive of diabetes prevalence. Food-related tweets can be leveraged to help characterize the neighborhood social and food environment, which in turn are linked with community levels of obesity and hypertension.

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Do Changes in the Local Food Environment Within New Residential Developments Influence the Diets of Residents? Longitudinal Results from RESIDE

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17186778 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (18) ◽

pp. 6778

Author(s):

Alexia Bivoltsis ◽

Gina Trapp ◽

Matthew Knuiman ◽

Paula Hooper ◽

Gina Ambrosini

Keyword(s):

Dietary Intake ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Food Environment ◽

Local Food ◽

Relative Proportion ◽

Healthy Food ◽

Healthy Diet ◽

Food Outlets ◽

Residential Developments ◽

Diet Score

Background: There is limited longitudinal evidence supporting a link between food outlet locations and dietary outcomes to inform policy and urban planning. This study examined how longitudinal changes in the local food environment within new residential developments influenced changes in adult dietary intake. Methods: Adult participant data (n = 3223 person-observations) were sourced from the RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) project across three time points between 2004 to 2012 in Perth, Western Australia. Fixed effects regression estimated the relationship between change in spatial exposure to the local food environment, individual behaviours and perceptions of the local food environment with dietary outcome variables (healthy diet score, unhealthy diet score, diet quality score and fruit/vegetable intake). Results: An increase over time in the percentage of healthy food outlets around the home was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with an increase in healthy diet scores and an increase in the distance from home to the nearest café restaurant was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with an increase in diet quality scores. Conclusions: Modifying the local food environment by increasing the relative proportion of healthy food outlets around the home may support healthier dietary intake.

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