TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of personal vehicle access with lifestyle habits and food insecurity among public housing residents
AU - Martinez, Jonathan C.
AU - Clark, Jeanne M.
AU - Gudzune, Kimberly A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23HL116601 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The study was also supported by small grants from the Johns Hopkins Osler Center for Clinical Excellence and the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute . We would like to thank Jennifer Peyton for her role as study coordinator on this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors
PY - 2019/3
Y1 - 2019/3
N2 - Transportation type may play a role in the ease with which a person can access healthy food and recreation facilities. Our objective was to determine the relationship between access to a personal vehicle and diet, food insecurity, and physical activity among public housing residents, which are typically low-income, urban populations. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of randomly selected households within two public housing communities in Baltimore, MD (2014–2015). Our independent variable was whether or not the resident had access to a personal vehicle. Our dependent variables were ‘high’ fruit & vegetable intake (≥6.7 servings/day), ‘high’ added sugar intake (≥39.9 tsp/day), food insecurity, and being physically active. We used Poisson regression with robust error variance to estimate relative risk ratios adjusted for demographics and perceived environmental factors. Our sample included 265 adults (response rate of 48%) with mean age of 45 years, 86% women, and 96% African-American. Only 42% had access to a vehicle. No significant associations existed between personal vehicle access with diet or physical activity outcomes. Access to a personal vehicle was associated with significantly lower risk of food insecurity (RR 0.76, 95%CI 0.63–0.92, p < 0.01). We found a significant association between personal vehicle access and lower risk of food insecurity; however, there were no associations with diet or exercise. Based on these results, future research might explore how transportation access influences and might possibly reduce food insecurity.
AB - Transportation type may play a role in the ease with which a person can access healthy food and recreation facilities. Our objective was to determine the relationship between access to a personal vehicle and diet, food insecurity, and physical activity among public housing residents, which are typically low-income, urban populations. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of randomly selected households within two public housing communities in Baltimore, MD (2014–2015). Our independent variable was whether or not the resident had access to a personal vehicle. Our dependent variables were ‘high’ fruit & vegetable intake (≥6.7 servings/day), ‘high’ added sugar intake (≥39.9 tsp/day), food insecurity, and being physically active. We used Poisson regression with robust error variance to estimate relative risk ratios adjusted for demographics and perceived environmental factors. Our sample included 265 adults (response rate of 48%) with mean age of 45 years, 86% women, and 96% African-American. Only 42% had access to a vehicle. No significant associations existed between personal vehicle access with diet or physical activity outcomes. Access to a personal vehicle was associated with significantly lower risk of food insecurity (RR 0.76, 95%CI 0.63–0.92, p < 0.01). We found a significant association between personal vehicle access and lower risk of food insecurity; however, there were no associations with diet or exercise. Based on these results, future research might explore how transportation access influences and might possibly reduce food insecurity.
KW - Diet
KW - Exercise
KW - Food supply
KW - Public housing
KW - Transportation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.01.001
DO - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.01.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 30792950
AN - SCOPUS:85061153355
SN - 2211-3355
VL - 13
SP - 341
EP - 345
JO - Preventive Medicine Reports
JF - Preventive Medicine Reports
ER -