Evidence on the Food Environment and Obesity

This paper examines the changes to procurement for school food environments in Canada as a response to changes to nutrition regulations at the provincial level. Interviews with those working in school food environments across Canada revealed how changes to the nutrition requirements of foods and beverages sold in schools presented opportunities to not only improve the nutrient content of the items made available in school food environments, but also to include local producers and/or school gardens in procuring for the school food environment. At the same time, some schools struggle to procure nutritionally compliant foods due to increased costs associated with transporting produce to rural, remote, or northern communities as well as logistic difficulties like spoilage. Although the nutrition regulations have facilitated improvements to food environments in some schools, others require more support to improve the overall nutritional quality of the foods and beverages available to students at school.

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07 / Preliminary investigation into the effects of SlimBiome on food cravings and responsiveness to the food environment in healthy o

10.26226/morressier.5b1a467e3b823805c63c00d2 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Hannah Brennan

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Preliminary Investigation ◽

Food Cravings

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A kitchen-based cookery workshop intervention to ameliorate the fire station food environment

10.26226/morressier.5fb3ba674d4e91fe5c54bca7 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Greg Lessons

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Fire Station ◽

Workshop Intervention

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A Time-Based Objective Measure of Exposure to the Food Environment

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16071180 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. 1180 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jason Scully ◽

Anne Moudon ◽

Philip Hurvitz ◽

Anju Aggarwal ◽

Adam Drewnowski

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Fast Food ◽

Objective Measure ◽

Mobility Patterns ◽

Time Duration ◽

Positioning Systems ◽

Global Positioning ◽

Fast Food Restaurants ◽

Logistic Regressions ◽

The Relationship

Exposure to food environments has mainly been limited to counting food outlets near participants’ homes. This study considers food environment exposures in time and space using global positioning systems (GPS) records and fast food restaurants (FFRs) as the environment of interest. Data came from 412 participants (median participant age of 45) in the Seattle Obesity Study II who completed a survey, wore GPS receivers, and filled out travel logs for seven days. FFR locations were obtained from Public Health Seattle King County and geocoded. Exposure was conceptualized as contact between stressors (FFRs) and receptors (participants’ mobility records from GPS data) using four proximities: 21 m, 100 m, 500 m, and ½ mile. Measures included count of proximal FFRs, time duration in proximity to ≥1 FFR, and time duration in proximity to FFRs weighted by FFR counts. Self-reported exposures (FFR visits) were excluded from these measures. Logistic regressions tested associations between one or more reported FFR visits and the three exposure measures at the four proximities. Time spent in proximity to an FFR was associated with significantly higher odds of FFR visits at all proximities. Weighted duration also showed positive associations with FFR visits at 21-m and 100-m proximities. FFR counts were not associated with FFR visits. Duration of exposure helps measure the relationship between the food environment, mobility patterns, and health behaviors. The stronger associations between exposure and outcome found at closer proximities (<100 m) need further research.

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Using a global food environment framework to understand relationships with food choice in diverse low- and middle-income countries

Global Food Security ◽

10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100511 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 ◽

pp. 100511

Author(s):

Shilpa V. Constantinides ◽

Christopher Turner ◽

Edward A. Frongillo ◽

Shiva Bhandari ◽

Ligia I. Reyes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Food Choice ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Global Food ◽

Low And Middle Income

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Food System Resilience during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Roman Solidarity Purchasing Groups

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11020156 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 156

Author(s):

Simona Tarra ◽

Giampiero Mazzocchi ◽

Davide Marino

Keyword(s):

Food Environment ◽

Food Production ◽

Food System ◽

Limited Extent ◽

Important Food ◽

Food Sector ◽

Supply Channel ◽

Production And Distribution ◽

System Resilience ◽

Depth Interviews

The restriction measures linked to the COVID-19 shock suddenly highlighted the vulnerability of most socioeconomic systems, including the food sector. In a context in which the limitation to the movement of people and goods has put the longer and more structured supply chains in serious difficulty, many experiences and initiatives have emerged as viable alternatives. The aim of the research was to understand if and how the Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPG) of Rome have contributed to the resilience of the food system of the metropolitan city during the lockdown. The research was based on the results of a questionnaire administered to the SPGs of Rome during the first period of the pandemic (April–July 2020), enriched by some in-depth interviews carried out by the authors. What emerged was that, despite the limited extent in terms of products conveyed within the whole food system, the SPGs represented an important food supply channel during the lockdown period, for two main reasons: a greater flexibility and agility in moving and in handling goods and the possibility of remunerating local farms, contributing to the resilience of the local agri-food fabric. The analysis of the results confirms the strong vitality of such Food Movements in Rome and, at the same time, allows for the identification of a series of interventions that the institutions could adopt to favor the spread of a food environment more compatible with more sustainable and fairer forms of food production and distribution.

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Food Environments and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Incidence

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115740 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5740

Author(s):

Mimi Ton ◽

Michael J. Widener ◽

Peter James ◽

Trang VoPham

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Food Environment ◽

Variance Estimation ◽

Cancer Registries ◽

County Level ◽

Individual Level ◽

Retail Food Environment ◽

Food Retailers ◽

Environment Index ◽

Rate Ratios

Research into the potential impact of the food environment on liver cancer incidence has been limited, though there is evidence showing that specific foods and nutrients may be potential risk or preventive factors. Data on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries. The county-level food environment was assessed using the Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), a continuous score that measures the number of healthy and less healthy food retailers within counties. Poisson regression with robust variance estimation was used to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between mRFEI scores and HCC risk, adjusting for individual- and county-level factors. The county-level food environment was not associated with HCC risk after adjustment for individual-level age at diagnosis, sex, race/ethnicity, year, and SEER registry and county-level measures for health conditions, lifestyle factors, and socioeconomic status (adjusted IRR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.01). The county-level food environment, measured using mRFEI scores, was not associated with HCC risk.

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Street Food Stand Availability, Density, and Distribution Across Income Levels in Mexico City

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18083953 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 3953

Author(s):

Jose B. Rosales Chavez ◽

Meg Bruening ◽

Punam Ohri-Vachaspati ◽

Rebecca E. Lee ◽

Megan Jehn

Keyword(s):

Mexico City ◽

Food Environment ◽

Local School ◽

Middle Income ◽

Street Food ◽

Income Levels ◽

Rigorous Approach ◽

Ground Truthing ◽

Document Relationships ◽

Street Segments

Street food stands (SFS) are an understudied element of the food environment. Previous SFS studies have not used a rigorous approach to document the availability, density, and distribution of SFS across neighborhood income levels and points of access in Mexico City. A random sample (n = 761) of street segments representing 20 low-, middle-, and high-income neighborhoods were assessed using geographic information system (GIS) and ground-truthing methods. All three income levels contained SFS. However, SFS availability and density were higher in middle-income neighborhoods. The distribution of SFS showed that SFS were most often found near homes, transportation centers, and worksites. SFS availability near schools may have been limited by local school policies. Additional studies are needed to further document relationships between SFS availability, density, and distribution, and current structures and processes.

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