Investigating the importance of the local food environment for fruit and vegetable intake in older men and women in 20 UK towns: a cross-sectional analysis of two national cohorts using novel methods

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Research

R.J. Silverwood¹  T. Pliakas²  S. Hawkesworth²  K. Nanchahal²  B. Armstrong²  Karen Lock³  J.P. Casas⁴  S.E. Ramsay⁵  P.H. Whincup⁶  R.W. Morris⁷  C. Sartini⁸  G. Wannamethee⁸  A. Amuzu⁹  J. Atkins⁹ 

[1] Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK;Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK;Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK;London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, UK;Farr Institute of Health Informatics, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, 222 Euston Road, NW1 2DA, London, UK;Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, NE2 4AX, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK;Population Health Research Institute, St George’s, University of London, SW17 0RE, London, UK;School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, BS8 2PS, Bristol, UK;UCL Department of Primary Care & Population Health, UCL Medical School, Rowland Hill Street, NW3 2PF, London, UK;University of Exeter Medical School, Wonford Barrack Road, EX2 5DW, Exeter, UK;

关键词: Diet;    Older people;    Food environment;    Fruit and vegetables;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12966-017-0581-0

 received in 2017-05-10, accepted in 2017-09-03,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLocal neighbourhood environments can influence dietary behavior. There is limited evidence focused on older people who are likely to have greater dependence on local areas and may suffer functional limitations that amplify any neighbourhood impact.MethodsUsing multi-level ordinal regression analysis we investigated the association between multiple dimensions of neighbourhood food environments (captured by fine-detail, foot-based environmental audits and secondary data) and self-reported frequency of fruit and vegetable intake. The study was a cross-sectional analysis nested within two nationally representative cohorts in the UK: the British Regional Heart Study and the British Women’s Heart and Health Study. Main exposures of interest were density of food retail outlets selling fruits and vegetables, the density of fast food outlets and a novel measure of diversity of the food retail environment.ResultsA total of 1124 men and 883 women, aged 69 – 92 years, living in 20 British towns were included in the analysis. There was strong evidence of an association between area income deprivation and fruit and vegetable consumption, with study members in the most deprived areas estimated to have 27% (95% CI: 7, 42) lower odds of being in a higher fruit and vegetable consumption category relative to those in the least deprived areas. We found no consistent evidence for an association between fruit and vegetable consumption and a range of other food environment domains, including density of shops selling fruits and vegetables, density of premises selling fast food, the area food retail diversity, area walkability, transport accessibility, or the local food marketing environment. For example, individuals living in areas with greatest fruit and vegetable outlet density had 2% (95% CI: -22, 21) lower odds of being in a higher fruit and vegetable consumption category relative to those in areas with no shops.ConclusionsAlthough small effect sizes in environment-diet relationships cannot be discounted, this study suggests that older people are less influenced by physical characteristics of neighbourhood food environments than is suggested in the literature. The association between area income deprivation and diet may be capturing an important social aspect of neighbourhoods that influence food intake in older adults and warrants further research.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017