Dataset Information

Healthful and less-healthful foods and drinks from storefront and non-storefront businesses: implications for 'food deserts', 'food swamps' and food-source disparities.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:Conceptualisations of 'food deserts' (areas lacking healthful food/drink) and 'food swamps' (areas overwhelm by less-healthful fare) may be both inaccurate and incomplete. Our objective was to more accurately and completely characterise food/drink availability in urban areas. DESIGN:Cross-sectional assessment of select healthful and less-healthful food/drink offerings from storefront businesses (stores, restaurants) and non-storefront businesses (street vendors). SETTING:Two areas of New York City: the Bronx (higher-poverty, mostly minority) and the Upper East Side (UES; wealthier, predominantly white). PARTICIPANTS:All businesses on 63 street segments in the Bronx (n 662) and on 46 street segments in the UES (n 330). RESULTS:Greater percentages of businesses offered any, any healthful, and only less-healthful food/drink in the Bronx (42·0 %, 37·5 %, 4·4 %, respectively) than in the UES (30 %, 27·9 %, 2·1 %, respectively). Differences were driven mostly by businesses (e.g. newsstands, gyms, laundromats) not primarily focused on selling food/drink - 'other storefront businesses' (OSBs). OSBs accounted for 36·0 % of all food/drink-offering businesses in the Bronx (more numerous than restaurants or so-called 'food stores') and 18·2 % in the UES (more numerous than 'food stores'). Differences also related to street vendors in both the Bronx and the UES. If street vendors and OSBs were not captured, the missed percentages of street segments offering food/drink would be 14·5 % in the Bronx and 21·9 % in the UES. CONCLUSIONS:Of businesses offering food/drink in communities, OSBs and street vendors can represent substantial percentages. Focusing on only 'food stores' and restaurants may miss or mischaracterise 'food deserts', 'food swamps', and food/drink-source disparities between communities.

SUBMITTER: Lucan SC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7196006 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Healthful and less-healthful foods and drinks from storefront and non-storefront businesses: implications for 'food deserts', 'food swamps' and food-source disparities.

Lucan Sean C SC Maroko Andrew R AR Patel Achint N AN Gjonbalaj Ilirjan I Elbel Brian B Schechter Clyde B CB

Public health nutrition 20200330 8

<h4>Objective</h4>Conceptualisations of 'food deserts' (areas lacking healthful food/drink) and 'food swamps' (areas overwhelm by less-healthful fare) may be both inaccurate and incomplete. Our objective was to more accurately and completely characterise food/drink availability in urban areas.<h4>Design</h4>Cross-sectional assessment of select healthful and less-healthful food/drink offerings from storefront businesses (stores, restaurants) and non-storefront businesses (street vendors).<h4>Sett ...[more]

PMID: 32223780

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Project description:BackgroundFood deserts are neighborhoods with little or no access to healthy food, whereas food swamps are neighborhoods where unhealthy food options prevail over healthy ones. The main aims of the current study are to feature and compare the neighborhoods of food deserts and food swamps based on social inequality.MethodsEcological study carried out in Belo Horizonte City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Information about commercial food establishments derived from two different databases. It was measured by secondary governmental databases, which were virtually conferred in the present study. Census tracts were considered as analysis units and classified as food deserts and food swamps, based on the Brazilian methodology. Take into consideration the density of establishments classified as selling fresh or minimally-processed food, mixed establishments, and establishments selling ultra-processed food. The Brazilian methodology evaluates food deserts by the density of healthy establishments (establishments classified as mostly selling fresh or minimally-processed food and mixed establishments) per 10 thousand inhabitants. And the metric to evaluate food swamps considers the density of unhealthy establishments (establishments mostly selling ultra-processed food) per 10 thousand inhabitants. Information about social inequalities comprised aspects such as income, population count, number of households, number of literate individuals, race, water and energy supply, and garbage collection. The Health Vulnerability Index (HVI) was used as a synthetic social vulnerability indicator.ResultsNeighborhoods of food deserts presented worse essential service availability, lower income per capita, and smaller mean number of literate individuals. Census tracts classified as food swamps presented better socio-demographic conditions than those areas food deserts. Neighborhoods simultaneously classified as food deserts and food swamps presented lower income per capita and were more often observed in census sectors presenting medium and high HVI.ConclusionThe food environment in Belo Horizonte was featured by the strong presence of food deserts and food swamps. However, the potential influence of these areas on food intake has changed depending on social inequalities.

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Dataset Information

Healthful and less-healthful foods and drinks from storefront and non-storefront businesses: implications for 'food deserts', 'food swamps' and food-source disparities.

Publications

Healthful and less-healthful foods and drinks from storefront and non-storefront businesses: implications for 'food deserts', 'food swamps' and food-source disparities.

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