 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
May-Choo Wang, DrPH, RD1, Alma Gonzalez, BS1, and Marilyn A. Winkleby, PhD, MPH2. (1) School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, 2180 Dwight Way, # C, Berkeley, CA 94704, 510-642-3589, maywang@uclink.berkeley.edu, (2) Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1000 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1825
The current obesity 'epidemic' has led to increased interest in re-examining the contributions of non-genetic factors to obesity risk. A factor of major interest is the neighborhood food environment, which is often described by the geographic density and proximity of retail food stores (e.g., grocery stores, and convenience stores). As part of a larger study that is examining associations between neighborhood food environments and obesity risk in about 10,000 individuals, aged 12-74 years, who participated in the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program (SHDPP) from 1979-1990, we sought historical data on retail food stores in the neighborhoods (n=82) where SHDPP participants lived. This presentation will discuss the challenges of identifying sources of historical data on retail food stores and the strengths and limitations of these sources, which include the telephone yellow pages; commercial providers of business/marketing information such as Trade Dimensions; and local business license and health departments. Local business license and health departments do not keep data for more than five years. However, some commercial data sources are able to provide historical data from 30 years ago. Merlin Information Services maintains historical data for the State Board of Equalization (SBE), and Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC). Comparison of sample datasets from the telephone yellow pages, Trade Dimensions, the SBE, and ABC revealed poor agreement in relevant information including business name, address, and starting/closing dates. Recommendations will be made about the most appropriate sources of retail food store data from historical sources for investigators who wish to examine neighborhood food environments on health outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Environment, Obesity
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.