TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding differences in the local food environment across countries
T2 - A case study in Madrid (Spain) and Baltimore (USA)
AU - Díez, Julia
AU - Bilal, Usama
AU - Cebrecos, Alba
AU - Buczynski, Amanda
AU - Lawrence, Robert S.
AU - Glass, Thomas
AU - Escobar, Francisco
AU - Gittelsohn, Joel
AU - Franco, Manuel
N1 - Funding Information:
JD, AC and MF were supported by the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013)/ERC Starting Grant HeartHealthyHoods Agreement n.336893 . UB was supported by a La Caixa Fellowship (2012), by the Enrique Nájera grant for Young Epidemiologists (10th edition) awarded by the Spanish Society of Epidemiology, and by the Center for a Livable Future-Lerner Fellowship .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016.
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Places where we buy food influence dietary patterns, making local food environments a good example of a mass influence on population diets. Cross-cultural studies, using reliable methods, may help understanding the relationship between food environments and diet-related health outcomes. We aimed to understand cross-national differences in the local food environment between Madrid and Baltimore by comparing an average neighborhood in each city in terms of food store types, healthy food availability, and residents' pedestrian access.During 2012-2013, we assessed one neighborhood (~. 15,000 residents) in each city selecting median areas in terms of socio-demographic characteristics (segregation, education, aging, and population density). We collected on-field data on (a) number and types of all food stores, (b) overall healthy food availability and (c) specific availability of fruits & vegetables. Throughout a street network analysis (200 m, 400 m and 800 m) of food stores with high healthy food availability, we estimated residents' pedestrian accessibility.We found 40 stores in Madrid and 14 in Baltimore. Small food stores carrying fresh foods in Madrid contrasted with the high presence of corner and chain convenience stores in Baltimore. In Madrid, 77% of the residents lived within less than 200 m from a food store with high healthy food availability. In contrast, 95% of Baltimore's residents lived further than 400 m from these stores.Our results may help promoting interventions from local city agencies to allocate resources to existing small-sized food stores, and to improve walkable urban environments. These actions may influence food choices, especially for those residents lacking access to private vehicles.
AB - Places where we buy food influence dietary patterns, making local food environments a good example of a mass influence on population diets. Cross-cultural studies, using reliable methods, may help understanding the relationship between food environments and diet-related health outcomes. We aimed to understand cross-national differences in the local food environment between Madrid and Baltimore by comparing an average neighborhood in each city in terms of food store types, healthy food availability, and residents' pedestrian access.During 2012-2013, we assessed one neighborhood (~. 15,000 residents) in each city selecting median areas in terms of socio-demographic characteristics (segregation, education, aging, and population density). We collected on-field data on (a) number and types of all food stores, (b) overall healthy food availability and (c) specific availability of fruits & vegetables. Throughout a street network analysis (200 m, 400 m and 800 m) of food stores with high healthy food availability, we estimated residents' pedestrian accessibility.We found 40 stores in Madrid and 14 in Baltimore. Small food stores carrying fresh foods in Madrid contrasted with the high presence of corner and chain convenience stores in Baltimore. In Madrid, 77% of the residents lived within less than 200 m from a food store with high healthy food availability. In contrast, 95% of Baltimore's residents lived further than 400 m from these stores.Our results may help promoting interventions from local city agencies to allocate resources to existing small-sized food stores, and to improve walkable urban environments. These actions may influence food choices, especially for those residents lacking access to private vehicles.
KW - Food environment
KW - GIS
KW - Healthy food availability
KW - International comparison
KW - Obesity
KW - Urban environment
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.06.013
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.06.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 27311334
AN - SCOPUS:84975144626
SN - 0091-7435
VL - 89
SP - 237
EP - 244
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
ER -