Objective and self-reported factors associated with food-environment perceptions and fruit-and-vegetable consumption:...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Urban Planning
• Nutritional Epidemiology

Background:

• Limited research compares perceived neighborhood environments with objective measures.
• Understanding the relationship between neighborhood perceptions, objective measures, and fruit and vegetable consumption is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the alignment between residents' perceptions of neighborhood food environments and objective measures.
• To examine the association between neighborhood characteristics, food environment perceptions, and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Main Methods:

• Telephone survey of 4,399 Philadelphia residents assessing individual, household, neighborhood perceptions, and fruit/vegetable consumption.
• Integration of objective neighborhood data from US Census Bureau, police, transportation, and nutrition assistance programs.
• Multilevel logistic regression models to analyze associations between perceptions, consumption, and demographic factors.

Main Results:

• Perceptions of food environments (supermarket access, produce availability) were internally consistent but weakly linked to objective measures and fruit/vegetable intake.
• Significant racial and educational disparities in fruit and vegetable consumption persisted after controlling for neighborhood factors.
• Presence of a supermarket in the extended neighborhood improved perceived access but not actual consumption.

Conclusions:

• Objective and self-reported neighborhood measures show limited association.
• Sociodemographic factors are key drivers of individual fruit and vegetable consumption, independent of neighborhood environment.
• Improving supermarket accessibility through new urban developments may enhance perceptions but not necessarily increase fruit and vegetable consumption.