296922
Food Access, consumption and shopping patterns in two low income neighborhoods in New Orleans
Methods: In-person interviews were conducted between October 2012 and April 2013 in two comparable neighborhoods with 901 adults who identified themselves as the primary household shopper. Respondents were asked where and how often they shopped and answered a food frequency questionnaire. Addresses were geocoded and distance was calculated to the stores where respondents shopped. Multivariable methods will be used to examine the relationship between shopping habits and healthy/unhealthy diet patterns.
Results: The mean age of respondents was 48.1 (±16.9) years. Over half (50.6%) were on Medicaid or Medicare and 66.3% had an annual income less than $25,000. Average daily servings of fresh produce and snack foods was 2.5 (1.9) and 2.1 (1.1), respectively. Average distance to the closest supermarket was 1 mile for all respondents; however, on average respondents reported traveling 2.8 miles to a store with 9 shopping trips per month. A profile of healthy/unhealthy eating patterns by shopping habits will be presented.
Discussion: Shopping at a store in close proximity may be related to more frequent trips and may be important to increased consumption of fresh produce. This has implications for store citing and programs that increase supermarket access.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policyPublic health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe factors related to healthy and unhealthy diet patterns .
Explain the relationship of distance to a supermarket and healthy and unhealthy diet patterns.
Keyword(s): Low-Income, Behavioral Research
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am principle investigator of the study. I have been an investigator with the Prevention Research Center since 2005. Among my scientific interests has been the relationship between the environment and health including food access in low income neighborhoods.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.