Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
School of Public Health, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Jun 6;23(1):1083. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15996-y.
There is a growing body of research on local retail food environments globally in both urban and rural settings. Despite this, little research has been conducted on adult food choices, local retail environments, and healthy food access in resource-poor communities. The purpose of this study is therefore to provide an overview of the evidence on adult food choices (measured as dietary intake) in association with the local retail food environment and food access in resource-poor communities (defined as low-income communities and/or households).
We searched nine databases for studies published from July 2005 to March 2022 and identified 2426 records in the primary and updated search. Observational studies, empirical and theoretical studies, focused on adults ≤ 65 years, published in English peer-reviewed journals, examining local retail food environments and food access, were included. Two independent reviewers screened identified articles using the selection criteria and data extraction form. Study characteristics and findings were summarized for all studies and relevant themes summarized for qualitative and mixed methods studies.
A total of 47 studies were included in this review. Most studies were cross sectional (93.6%) and conducted in the United States of America (70%). Nineteen (40.4%) studies assessed the association between food choice outcomes and local retail food environment exposures, and evidence on these associations are inconclusive. Associations of certain food choice outcomes with healthy food retail environments were positive for healthy foods (in 11 studies) and unhealthy foods (in 3 studies). Associations of certain food choice outcomes with unhealthy retail food environment exposures were positive for unhealthy foods in 1 study and negative for healthy foods in 3 studies. In 9 studies, some of the food choice outcomes were not associated with retail food environment exposures. A healthy food store type and lower food prices were found to be major facilitators for healthy food access in resource-poor communities, while cost and transportation were the main barriers.
More research is needed on the local retail food environment in communities in low- and middle-income countries to develop better interventions to improve food choices and access to healthy foods in resource-poor communities.
在城市和农村地区，全球范围内都有越来越多的关于当地零售食品环境的研究。尽管如此，关于资源匮乏社区成年人的食物选择、当地零售环境和健康食品获取的研究却很少。因此，本研究的目的是概述有关成年人食物选择（以饮食摄入衡量）与资源匮乏社区（定义为低收入社区和/或家庭）当地零售食品环境和食品获取之间关联的证据。
我们在九个数据库中搜索了 2005 年 7 月至 2022 年 3 月期间发表的研究，并在初次和更新搜索中确定了 2426 份记录。纳入了针对成年人（≤65 岁）的观察性研究、实证研究和理论研究，这些研究发表在英文同行评审期刊上，研究内容涉及当地零售食品环境和食品获取。两位独立评审员使用选择标准和数据提取表筛选确定了文章。总结了所有研究的研究特征和发现，并对定性和混合方法研究的相关主题进行了总结。
本综述共纳入 47 项研究。大多数研究为横断面研究（93.6%），在美国（70%）进行。19 项（40.4%）研究评估了食物选择结果与当地零售食品环境暴露之间的关联，而这些关联的证据并不明确。某些食物选择结果与健康食品零售环境之间的关联呈阳性，涉及健康食品（11 项研究）和不健康食品（3 项研究）。某些食物选择结果与不健康零售食品环境暴露之间的关联在一项研究中呈阳性，涉及不健康食品，而在三项研究中呈阴性，涉及健康食品。在 9 项研究中，一些食物选择结果与零售食品环境暴露无关。研究发现，在资源匮乏社区中，健康食品商店类型和较低的食品价格是促进健康食品获取的主要促进因素，而成本和交通是主要障碍。
需要在中低收入国家的社区中开展更多关于当地零售食品环境的研究，以制定更好的干预措施，改善资源匮乏社区的食物选择和获取健康食品的能力。
