Healthy food access for urban food desert residents: examination of the food environment, food purchasing practices, diet and BMI

Abstract

Objective Provide a richer understanding of food access and purchasing practices among U.S. urban food desert residents and their association with diet and body mass. Design Data on food purchasing practices, dietary intake, height, and weight from the primary food shopper in randomly selected households (n=1372) was collected. Audits of all neighborhood food stores (n=24) and the most-frequented stores outside the neighborhood (n=16) were conducted. Aspects of food access and purchasing practices and relationships among them were examined and tests of their associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) were conducted. Setting Two low-income predominantly African-American neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Subjects Household food shoppers. Results Only one neighborhood outlet sold fresh produce; nearly all respondents did major food shopping outside the neighborhood. Although the nearest full-service supermarket was an average of 2.6 km from their home, respondents shopped an average of 6.0 km from home. The average trip was by car, took approximately two hours roundtrip, and occurred two to four times per month. Respondents spent approximately $37 per person per week on food. Those who made longer trips had access to cars, shopped less often, and spent less money per person. Those who traveled further when they shopped had higher BMIs, but most residents already shopped where healthy foods were available, and physical distance from full service groceries was unrelated to weight or dietary quality. Conclusions Improved access to healthy foods is the target of current policies meant to improve health. However, distance to the closest supermarket might not be as important as previously thought and thus policy and interventions that focus merely on improving access may not be effective.

Where do food desert residents buy most of their junk food? Supermarkets

“…This finding is perhaps not surprising in light of other research showing that the majority of people rarely shop at the supermarket closest to their home (14–16) . Our analysis also documents the high demand among this cohort for unhealthy foods such as sweets relative to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.…”

Effects of Latino children on their mothers' dietary intake and dietary behaviors: The role of children's acculturation and the mother-child acculturation gap

“…Mothers were asked to estimate how much their family spent on groceries and how much (or what proportion) of that was spent on fruits and vegetables per week in the past month (Dubowitz, et al, 2015). The amount spent on all groceries was divided by the amount spent on fruits and vegetables to obtain the percent of grocery dollars spent on fruits and vegetables.…”

Food retail assessment and family food purchase behavior in Ashongman estates, Ghana

“…Studies in urban areas in many developed countries have shown that the food environment has been influenced by the modern built environment, making it increasingly easier to access unhealthy food options [4,5]. This characteristic of the urban food environment has also been described as 'food desert', a term used to describe neighborhoods with limited physical and economic access to healthier food options such as fruits, vegetables and other healthy whole foods [6][7][8]. Food deserts, which are often located in poor neighborhoods, are created when supermarkets and other sources of fresh produce are situated, as part of zoning regulations, further away from living areas or require having private transportation to reach [9][10][11].…”