Thomas Terrence W, Cankurt Murat
Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA.
Foods. 2024 Jun 26;13(13):2013. doi: 10.3390/foods13132013.
Nutrition is a vital factor that exerts a profound and direct impact on health. Food environments significantly influence individuals' dietary behaviors, health outcomes, and overall food security. Individuals in food deserts and food swamps do not have access to healthier food options. And in both cases, the emphasis is primarily on the physical configuration of the environment as it relates to food availability. This quasi-experimental study aims to investigate the impact of two different food environments (defined to include a social component) on food choices. A total of 246 participants were surveyed by telephone, half of whom were primed with Scenario A (a food environment deficient in healthy options and cues that support and reinforce healthier choices) and half were primed with Scenario B (an environment with an abundance of healthy food options and cues that support and reinforce healthy eating). Ordered logit regression was used for analysis. The results show significant differences in likely food consumption between the groups. Individuals in Scenario B were found to be 4.48 times more likely to consume fruits and vegetables. In addition, it was determined that being a woman increases the probability of consuming more fruits and vegetables by 0.92 times (1/0.52-1), and adherence to a healthy diet increases by 3.64 times. Age and race were not significant predictors. This study highlights the crucial role of environmental factors in shaping dietary habits and underscores the importance of the social components of the food environment in promoting the adoption of healthier dietary habits. Based on these findings, policymakers should prioritize developing strategies that go beyond providing physical access and consider social aspects of the environment in promoting healthy eating habits to improve public health and bolster the food security of communities.
营养是对健康产生深远而直接影响的关键因素。食物环境对个人的饮食行为、健康状况以及整体粮食安全有着重大影响。生活在食物荒漠和食物沼泽地区的人们无法获得更健康的食物选择。在这两种情况下，重点主要在于与食物供应相关的环境物理布局。这项准实验研究旨在调查两种不同的食物环境（定义为包括社会因素）对食物选择的影响。通过电话对总共246名参与者进行了调查，其中一半参与者接触情景A（一种缺乏健康选择以及支持和强化更健康选择的提示的食物环境），另一半接触情景B（一种有丰富健康食物选择以及支持和强化健康饮食的提示的环境）。采用有序逻辑回归进行分析。结果显示两组在可能的食物消费方面存在显著差异。发现情景B中的个体食用水果和蔬菜的可能性是情景A中个体的4.48倍。此外，研究确定女性食用更多水果和蔬菜的概率增加0.92倍（1/0.52 - 1），坚持健康饮食的概率增加3.64倍。年龄和种族不是显著的预测因素。这项研究强调了环境因素在塑造饮食习惯方面的关键作用，并突出了食物环境的社会因素在促进采用更健康饮食习惯方面的重要性。基于这些发现，政策制定者应优先制定超越提供实际获取途径的策略，并在促进健康饮食习惯以改善公众健康和加强社区粮食安全方面考虑环境的社会层面。
