Ahmed Selena, Byker Shanks Carmen
Food and Health Lab at Montana State University, Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems Program, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Aug 17;14(8):924. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14080924.
While daily consumption of fruits and vegetables (FVs) is widely recognized to be associated with supporting nutrition and health, disparities exist in consumer food environments regarding access to high-quality produce based on location. The purpose of this study was to evaluate FV quality using total phenolic (TP) scores (a phytochemical measure for health-promoting attributes, flavor, appearance, and shelf-life) in consumer food environments along a rural to urban continuum in the rural state of Montana, United States. Significant differences were found in the means of the FV TP scores ( < 0.0001) and vegetable TP scores ( < 0.0001) on the basis of rurality, while no significant difference was found for fruit TP scores by rurality ( < 0.2158). Specifically, FV TP scores and vegetable TP scores were highest for the least rural stores and lowest for the most rural stores. Results indicate an access gap to high-quality vegetables in more rural and more health-disparate consumer food environments of Montana compared to urban food environments. Findings highlight that food and nutrition interventions should aim to increase vegetable quality in rural consumer food environments in the state of Montana towards enhancing dietary quality and food choices. Future studies are called for that examine TP scores of a wide range of FVs in diverse food environments globally. Studies are further needed that examine linkages between FV quality, food choices, diets, and health outcomes towards enhancing food environments for public health.
虽然人们普遍认识到每日食用水果和蔬菜（FVs）有助于维持营养和健康，但在消费者食品环境中，基于地理位置的优质农产品获取情况存在差异。本研究的目的是在美国蒙大拿州这个农村州，沿着从农村到城市的连续区域，在消费者食品环境中使用总酚（TP）评分（一种用于衡量促进健康属性、风味、外观和保质期的植物化学指标）来评估FV质量。基于农村程度，FV的TP评分（<0.0001）和蔬菜的TP评分（<0.0001）存在显著差异，而水果的TP评分在农村程度方面没有显著差异（<0.2158）。具体而言，农村程度最低的商店的FV TP评分和蔬菜TP评分最高，而农村程度最高的商店的评分最低。结果表明，与城市食品环境相比，蒙大拿州农村地区以及健康差异更大的消费者食品环境中，获取优质蔬菜存在差距。研究结果强调，食品和营养干预措施应旨在提高蒙大拿州农村消费者食品环境中的蔬菜质量，以改善饮食质量和食物选择。需要开展进一步的研究，以检查全球不同食品环境中各种FV的TP评分。还需要研究FV质量、食物选择、饮食和健康结果之间的联系，以改善公共卫生的食品环境。
