Understanding the Associations of the Objective Food Environment, Food Purchasing Behaviors, and Dietary Intake of Fruits and Vegetables in a Community-based Sample in a Low-income, Minority Neighborhood in Austin, Texas

Molly M O'Neil, The University of Texas School of Public Health

Abstract

The relationship between geospatial access to food stores and food-purchasing decisions remains unclear. This study examined the association between geospatial access to specific types of food stores and participant-reported place of purchase for fruits and vegetables (F&V). Data from a cross-sectional survey of a low-income, predominantly Hispanic adult population in Austin, Texas from 2016 to 2017 were used for this study. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to calculate geospatial food environment variables: availability (dichotomous: yes/no) of ≥1 supermarkets, small grocery stores, convenience stores, and non-traditional stores (farmer/mobile markets, farm-stands) within 1000m Euclidean buffers of each participant’s home and network-distance to the nearest store. Participants’ self-reported use of specific store type for F&V purchasing and daily F&V consumption. Logistic regression was used to estimate: 1) the effect of store-specific geospatial access on using that store type for purchasing F&V and 2) the effect of store-specific F&V purchasing on reported daily F&V consumption. The prevalence of reported use of specific store types among participants (n=775) for F&V purchases was as follows: 98.2% for supermarkets, 23.4% for small grocery stores, 3.0% for convenience stores, and 20.0% for non-traditional stores. Long (vs. short) distance to the nearest small grocery store was significantly and inversely associated with F&V purchasing at these stores, controlling for socio-demographic covariates (odds ratio (OR)=0.76; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.63-0.93). Availability of ≥1 non-traditional stores within 1000m of home (equivalent to a ten-minute walk) was significantly and directly associated with purchasing F&V at these stores, controlling for socio-demographic covariates (OR=1.49; 95%CI:1.02-2.18). No significant associations were observed between supermarket or convenience store geospatial access and F&V purchasing. Among participants, 32.0% reported “low daily F&V intake”, 49.2% reported “moderate daily F&V intake”, and 17.0% reported “high daily F&V intake”. Reported F&V purchasing at non-traditional stores was significantly and directly associated with increased daily F&V intake, controlling for socio-demographic covariates (OR=2.25; 95%CI:1.45-3.48). No significant associations were observed between purchasing F&V at supermarkets, small grocery stores, or convenience stores and F&V consumption. Results from this study suggest that the role of geospatial access to food stores on F&V purchasing is store-type specific. While for some store types (small grocery and non-traditional stores) geospatial availability appears to influence consumers F&V purchasing decisions, for others (supermarkets and grocery stores) location may not be as important of a contributing factor. Thus, current emphasis on increasing geospatial access to supermarkets and convenience stores may not be as effective as increasing that of small grocery stores and non-traditional retailers in an effort to facilitate healthier food purchasing decisions in low-income, predominantly-Hispanic areas. However, further research is needed to support this conclusion.

Subject Area

Public health

Recommended Citation

O'Neil, Molly M, "Understanding the Associations of the Objective Food Environment, Food Purchasing Behaviors, and Dietary Intake of Fruits and Vegetables in a Community-based Sample in a Low-income, Minority Neighborhood in Austin, Texas" (2018). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI10790883.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI10790883

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