Access to supermarkets and fruit and vegetable consumption

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nutrition Science
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Food environment access is crucial for dietary choices.
• Physical proximity to supermarkets is often used as a proxy for access.
• Understanding factors influencing supermarket choice is key to improving public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if supermarket choice is a better predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption than physical proximity.
• To investigate the role of personal factors, proxied by supermarket choice, in accessing healthy foods.
• To analyze how supermarket cost influences shopping behavior and distance traveled.

Main Methods:

• The Seattle Obesity Study used geocoded addresses and primary supermarket locations.
• Supermarkets were categorized by cost (low, medium, high) based on a 100-food market basket.
• Linear regressions analyzed associations between proximity, choice, and fruit/vegetable consumption.

Main Results:

• Only one-third of participants shopped at their nearest supermarket.
• Consumers choosing low-cost supermarkets were more likely to travel further.
• Fruit and vegetable consumption correlated with supermarket choice, not physical distance.

Conclusions:

• Physical distance alone is an insufficient measure of supermarket access, especially for car-dependent shoppers.
• Food environment research should consider actual shopping behaviors beyond geographic boundaries.
• Supermarket choice offers a more accurate reflection of food access and its impact on diet.