Food Supply Adequacy in the Lower Mississippi Delta

Connell, Carol; Yadrick, M. Kathleen; Simpson, Pippa; Gossett, Jeffrey M.; McGee, Bernestine B.; Bogle, Margaret L.

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2006.10.007

Cited by 64 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…25,27 Block et al in suburban Chicago and Connell et al in the lower Mississippi delta enumerated the items that were available from a standard "market basket" and found that supermarkets contained nearly 100% of the fresh fruits and vegetables, but small independent groceries contained 29-45% and convenience stores contained only 8-28% of these items. 24,28 In contrast, both Block and Connell found that supermarkets contained nearly 100%, independent smaller groceries contained 60-71%, and convenience stores contained 48-68% of the fats, oils, sugars, and sweets in their market baskets-indicating that customers have more extensive choices in calorie-dense items than fruits and vegetables in smaller stores. 24,28 To our knowledge, this is the first study that has measured the length of shelf space allotted to these items in the USA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…24,28 In contrast, both Block and Connell found that supermarkets contained nearly 100%, independent smaller groceries contained 60-71%, and convenience stores contained 48-68% of the fats, oils, sugars, and sweets in their market baskets-indicating that customers have more extensive choices in calorie-dense items than fruits and vegetables in smaller stores. 24,28 To our knowledge, this is the first study that has measured the length of shelf space allotted to these items in the USA. In addition, very few studies have considered liquor stores and drug stores as sources of food, even though these stores may be important sources of food for families that do not own cars or live in neighborhoods that are distant from supermarkets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…[22][23][24][25][26][27] In these studies, nearly all supermarkets contain some fresh fruits and vegetables, 24,26,27 but only approximately one fourth to one third of small stores or convenience stores contained any fresh fruits or vegetables. 25,27 Block et al in suburban Chicago and Connell et al in the lower Mississippi delta enumerated the items that were available from a standard "market basket" and found that supermarkets contained nearly 100% of the fresh fruits and vegetables, but small independent groceries contained 29-45% and convenience stores contained only 8-28% of these items.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring the Food Environment: Shelf Space of Fruits, Vegetables, and Snack Foods in Stores

et al. 2009

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Dietary patterns may be influenced by the availability and accessibility within stores of different types of foods. However, little is known about the amount of shelf space used for healthy and unhealthy foods in different types of stores. We conducted measurements of the length of shelf space used for fruits, vegetables, and snack foods items in 419 stores in 217 urban census tracts in southern Louisiana and in Los Angeles County. Although supermarkets offered far more shelf space of fruits and vegetables than did other types of stores, they also devoted more shelf space to unhealthy snacks (mean 205 m for all of these items combined) than to fruits and vegetables (mean 117 m, pG0.001). After supermarkets, drug stores devoted the most shelf space to unhealthy items. The ratio of the total shelf space for fruits and vegetables to the total shelf space for these unhealthy snack items was the lowest (0.10 or below) and very similar in convenience stores, drug stores, and liquor stores, was in a middle range (0.18 to 0.30) in small food stores, and was highest in medium-sized food stores (0.40 to 0.61) and supermarkets (0.55 to 0.72). Simple measurements of shelf space can be used by researchers to characterize the healthfulness of the food environment and by policymakers to establish criteria for favorable policy treatment of stores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring the Food Environment: Shelf Space of Fruits, Vegetables, and Snack Foods in Stores

et al. 2009

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“…Finally, the impact of food availability on diet quality or food sources was not assessed because this information was not collected. The low availability of supermarkets and healthy food in the region has been highlighted in previous research as possible determinants of diet quality (22,23) .…”

Section: When Examining Total and Component Hei-2005 Scoresmentioning

confidence: 95%

Food and beverage choices contributing to dietary guidelines adherence in the Lower Mississippi Delta

Thomson

Onufrak

Connell

et al. 2011

Public Health Nutr.

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Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to evaluate diet quality among Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) residents using the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005 and to identify the top five dietary sources contributing to HEI-2005 components. Demographic differences in HEI-2005 scores were also explored. Design: Diet quality was evaluated using HEI-2005. Demographic differences in HEI-2005 scores were investigated using multivariable regression models adjusting for multiple comparisons. The top five dietary sources contributing to HEI-2005 components were identified by estimating and ranking mean MyPyramid equivalents overall and by demographic characteristics. Setting: Dietary data, based on a single 24 h recall, from the Foods of Our Delta Study 2000 (FOODS 2000) were used in the analyses. Subjects: FOODS 2000 adult participants 18 years of age or older. Results: Younger age was the largest determinant of low diet quality in the LMD with HEI-2005 total and seven component scores declining with decreasing age. Income was not a significant factor for HEI-2005 total or component scores. The top five dietary sources differed by all five of the demographic variables, particularly for total vegetables and energy from solid fats, alcoholic beverages and added sugars (SoFAAS). Soft drinks were the leading source of SoFAAS energy intake for all demographic groups. Conclusions: The assessment of diet quality and identification of top dietary sources revealed the presence of demographic differences for selected HEI-2005 components. These findings allow identification of food patterns and culturally appropriate messaging and highlight the difficulties of treating this region as a homogeneous population. Keywords Diet quality HEI-2005 Top food sources Lower Mississippi DeltaThe Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) region is a sparsely populated and highly agricultural area encompassing the alluvial plain of the Mississippi River in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The highly impoverished LMD region has long suffered from disproportionately high rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from the early 1990s revealed that 31?3 % of residents in the LMD region were obese, 6?9 % reported diabetes and 28?9 % reported hypertension (1) . A 2007 BRFSS oversample of LMD counties in Mississippi revealed that obesity, diabetes and hypertension rates had risen to 37?0 %, 12?2 % and 36?5 %, respectively (2)

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“…These studies looked mainly at indicator foods (e.g., specific vegetables, wholegrain products, or low-fat dairy items as markers of healthful food inventory), 50,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] or used food checklists or indices. [56][57][58][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85] However, no prior studies have looked more comprehensively at food offerings, and none have provided a detailed description of snack food inventories in corner stores despite evidence that children purchase and consume unhealthy snacks from corner stores, 55,87 and corner stores provide a substantial number of total daily calories for young people. 88 Prior research has also not directly addressed the nutritional content of corner store snack foods, nor where these food come from.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Storing Empty Calories and Chronic Disease Risk: Snack-Food Products, Nutritive Content, and Manufacturers in Philadelphia Corner Stores

2010

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Corner stores are part of the urban food environment that may contribute to obesity and diet-related diseases, particularly for low-income and minority children. The snack foods available in corner stores may be a particularly important aspect of an urban child's food environment. Unfortunately, there is little data on exactly what snack foods corner stores stock, or where these foods come from. We evaluated snack foods in 17 Philadelphia corner stores, located in three ethnically distinct, low-income school neighborhoods. We recorded the manufacturer, calories, fat, sugar, and sodium for all snack items, excluding candy and prepared foods. We then compared the nutritive content of assessed snack items to established dietary recommendations and a school nutrition standard. In total, stores stocked 452 kinds of snacks, with only 15% of items common between all three neighborhoods. Total and unique snacks and snack food manufacturers varied by neighborhood, but distributions in snack type varied negligibly: overall, there were no fruit snacks, no vegetable snacks, and only 3.6% of all snacks (by liberal definition) were whole grain. The remainder (96.4% of snacks) was highly processed foods. Five of 65 manufacturers supplied 73.4% of all kinds of snack foods. Depending on serving size definition, 80.0-91.5% of snack foods were "unhealthy" (by the school nutrition standard), including seven of 11 wholegrain products. A single snack item could supply 6-14% of a day's recommended calories, fat, sugar, and sodium on average (or 56-169% at the extreme) for a "typical" child. We conclude that corner store snack food inventories are almost entirely unhealthful, and we discuss possible implications and next steps for research and intervention.

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Food Supply Adequacy in the Lower Mississippi Delta

Cited by 64 publications

References 24 publications

Measuring the Food Environment: Shelf Space of Fruits, Vegetables, and Snack Foods in Stores

Measuring the Food Environment: Shelf Space of Fruits, Vegetables, and Snack Foods in Stores

Food and beverage choices contributing to dietary guidelines adherence in the Lower Mississippi Delta

Storing Empty Calories and Chronic Disease Risk: Snack-Food Products, Nutritive Content, and Manufacturers in Philadelphia Corner Stores

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