Community Solutions to Increase the Healthfulness of Grocery Stores: Perspectives of Immigrant Parents

Hadis Dastgerdizad (), Rachael D. Dombrowski, Bree Bode, Kathryn A. G. Knoff, Noel Kulik, James Mallare, Ravneet Kaur and Heather Dillaway
Additional contact information
Hadis Dastgerdizad: Department of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Bluffton, SC 29909, USA
Rachael D. Dombrowski: Departments of Public Health and Kinesiology, College of Education, Health and Human Services, California State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096, USA
Bree Bode: Michigan Fitness Foundation, Lansing, MI 48314, USA
Kathryn A. G. Knoff: Office of Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
Noel Kulik: Center for Health and Community Impact, Division of Kinesiology, Health & Sport Studies, College of Education, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
James Mallare: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Ravneet Kaur: Division of Health Research and Evaluation, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Rockford, IL 61107, USA
Heather Dillaway: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: Grocery store environments are recognized as one of the most crucial community settings for developing and maintaining healthy nutritional behaviors in children. This is especially true for disadvantaged ethnic minority families, such as immigrants, who reside in the Detroit Metropolitan area and have historically experienced inequities that result in poor health outcomes. Rates of obesity and type II diabetes have affected Detroit 38% more than the rest of the state and nationwide. In 2019, almost 54% of children aged 0–17 in Metro Detroit lived in poverty, and 21.6% experienced food insecurity, compared with the state level of 14.2%. Moreover, nearly 50% of ethnic minority children in Metro Detroit consume sports drinks, and 70% consume soda or pop in an average week. The primary purpose of this study was to explore immigrant parents’ perspectives on (1) how in-store Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) marketing impacts the purchasing behaviors of parents and the eating behaviors of toddlers, and the secondary objective was to (2) determine strategies to reduce SSB purchases and consumption within grocery environments from the viewpoints of immigrant parents. A qualitative multiple-case study design was used to achieve the aims of this study. Semi-structured individual interviews were completed with 18 immigrant parents of children aged 2 to 5 years old who were consumers in 30 independently owned full-service grocery stores within the immigrant enclaves of Detroit, Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Warren, Michigan. Three key thematic categories emerged from the parents’ narratives. These themes were: (1) non-supportive grocery store environments; (2) acculturation to the American food environment; and (3) strategies to support reduced SSB consumption among young immigrant children. The findings of this study revealed widespread SSB marketing targeting toddlers within the participating independently owned grocery stores. Even if families with young children practiced healthy nutritional behaviors, the prices, placements, and promotion of SSBs were challenges to establishing and sustaining these healthy eating habits. The parents believed that planning and implementing retail-based strategies in collaboration with families and considering families’ actual demands would assist in managing children’s eating patterns and reducing early childhood obesity.

Keywords: qualitative multiple-case study; acculturation; independently owned grocery stores; immigrant parents; early childhood obesity; targeted marketing; sugar sweetened beverages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/15/6536/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/15/6536/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:15:p:6536-:d:1211770

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().