Relative and absolute availability of healthier food and beverage alternatives across communities in the United States

S.N. Zenk, L.M. Powell, L. Rimkus, Z. Isgor, D.C. Barker, P. Ohri-Vachaspati and F. Chaloupka

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue 11, 2170-2178

Abstract: Objectives. We examined associations between the relative and absolute availability of healthier food and beverage alternatives at food stores and community racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and urban-rural characteristics. Methods. We analyzed pooled, annual cross-sectional data collected in 2010 to 2012 from 8462 food stores in 468 communities spanning 46 US states. Relative availability was the ratio of 7 healthier products (e.g., whole-wheat bread) to less healthy counterparts (e.g., white bread); we based absolute availability on the 7 healthier products. Results. The mean healthier food and beverage ratio was 0.71, indicating that stores averaged 29% fewer healthier than less healthy products. Lower relative availability of healthier alternatives was associated with low-income, Black, and Hispanic communities. Small stores had the largest differences: relative availability of healthier alternatives was 0.61 and 0.60, respectively, for very low-income Black and very low-income Hispanic communities, and 0.74 for very high-income White communities. We found fewer associations between absolute availability of healthier products and community characteristics. Conclusions. Policies to improve the relative availability of healthier alternatives may be needed to improve population health and reduce disparities. © 2014, American Public Health Association Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: ancestry group; beverage; catering service; cross-sectional study; demography; epidemiology; ethnic group; food; health disparity; human; obesity; socioeconomics; standards; statistics and numerical data; Sand distribution; United States, Beverages; Continental Population Groups; Cross-Sectional Studies; Ethnic Groups; Food; Food Supply; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Obesity; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2014.302113_4

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302113

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