A New Raster-Based Metric to Measure Relative Food Availability in Rural Areas: A Case Study in Southeastern North Carolina

Mulrooney, Timothy; Mcginn, Chris; Branch, Benjamin; Madumere, Chibuike; Ifediora, Byron

doi:10.1353/sgo.2017.0015

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Further, social capital can also facilitate solutions to geographic barriers to getting food, whether that be from shared transportation, meal delivery, or meals at community organizations and locations. Recent evidence in rural eastern North Carolina suggests that lower travel time to food sources is a key factor in food security [29].…”

Section: The Role Of Social Capital In Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Local Food Environment and Food Security: The Health Behavior Role of Social Capital

Paul

Anderson

2019

IJERPH

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Food politics and economic forces may determine the macro conditions for food supply, but the local environment has the most substantial impact on population health. Food security is determined not only by the basic availability of food, but also by social, economic, and cultural factors influencing dietary behaviors. This paper investigates the role of social institutions, specifically social capital, in affecting food security by proposing a theoretical linkage between social capital and health behavior, and an illustrative case is provided. Social capital, defined as the value of the bonding, bridging, and linking relationships between people, is well demonstrated to be related to health. Many mechanisms link social capital to health, including shared access to food and nutritional behaviors. Further, social capital influences health through social status and race. This paper further investigates the links between minority status, food security, social capital, and health. The analysis draws on empirical work in North Carolina with community gardens, faith communities, the local food environment, and other social capital-related variables. By investigating the nature of local food security, particularly for minority populations, this analysis allows for better integration of local conditions with global food politics. 7 of 8 linking pathways for communities to get assistance for long-term food security. These relationships suggest pathways for further inquiry and intervention.Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.J.P. and J.E.P.; investigation, C.J.P. and R.S.A.; methodology, C.J.P. and J.E.P.; resources, R.S.A.; writing-original draft, C.J.P.; writing-review and editing, C.J.P., J.E.P. and R.S.A.Funding: This research received no external funding.

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Section: The Role Of Social Capital In Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Local Food Environment and Food Security: The Health Behavior Role of Social Capital

Paul

Anderson

2019

IJERPH

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“…For instance, if only density of fast-food restaurants in a neighbourhood is considered without accounting for the presence of other types of food retailers, results might be biased because access to healthier food retailers may balance the influence that less healthy food retailers have on dietary choices (16) . Therefore, it has been argued that the use of relative measures which take into account the variety of food retailers within the broader food environment might be preferable (8,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) . An example of a relative measure is the modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), representing the percentage of healthier food retailers relative to the total amount of food retailers in the area (21) .…”

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confidence: 99%

Exploring absolute and relative measures of exposure to food environments in relation to dietary patterns among European adults

Pinho

Mackenbach

Oppert

et al. 2018

Public Health Nutr.

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ObjectiveTo explore the associations of absolute and relative measures of exposure to food retailers with dietary patterns, using simpler and more complex measures.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingUrban regions in Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK.ParticipantsEuropean adults (n 4942). Supermarkets and local food shops were classified as ‘food retailers providing healthier options’; fast-food/takeaway restaurants, cafés/bars and convenience/liquor stores as ‘food retailers providing less healthy options’. Simpler exposure measures used were density of healthy and density of less healthy food retailers. More complex exposure measures used were: spatial access (combination of density and proximity) to healthy and less healthy food retailers; density of healthier food retailers relative to all food retailers; and a ratio of spatial access scores to healthier and less healthy food retailers. Outcome measures were a healthy or less healthy dietary pattern derived from a principal component analysis (based on consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish, fast foods, sweets and sweetened beverages).ResultsOnly the highest density of less healthy food retailers was significantly associated with the less healthy dietary pattern (β = −129·6; 95 % CI −224·3, −34·8). None of the other absolute density measures nor any of the relative measures of exposures were associated with dietary patterns.ConclusionsMore complex measures of exposure to food retailers did not produce stronger associations with dietary patterns. We had some indication that absolute and relative measures of exposure assess different aspects of the food environment. However, given the lack of significant findings, this needs to be further explored.

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“…Some studies attempt to include a variety of food access points including small‐scale grocers/bodegas, farmer's markets, urban agriculture, food pantries, and soup kitchens (Gittelsohn et al, 2012). A variety of metrics are available for quantifying food availability (see e.g., Mulrooney et al, 2017; Nicholas et al, 2022; Ver Ploeg et al, 2015). In one study, researchers measured the shelf space dedicated to food groups (Bodor et al, 2008).…”

Section: Measuring Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring food insecurity: An introduction to tools for human biologists and ecologists

Piperata

Scaggs

Dufour

et al. 2022

American J Hum Biol

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Objective: Food insecurity is a significant and growing concern undermining the wellbeing of 30% of the global population. Food in/security is a complex construct consisting of four dimensions: availability, access, utilization, and stability, making it challenging to measure. We provide a toolkit human biologists/ecologists can use to advance research on this topic.Methods: We review the strengths and limitations of common tools used to measure food access and utilization, the two dimensions most proximate to people's lived experience, and emphasize tools that provide data needed to best link food security with human biological outcomes. We also discuss methods that provide contextual data human biologists/ecologists will find useful for study design, ensuring instrument validity, and improving data quality.Results: Food access is principally measured using experience-based instruments that emphasize economic access. Social access, such as food sharing, is under-studied and we recommend using social network analysis to explore this dimension. In terms of utilization, emphasis has been on food choice measured as dietary diversity. Food preparation and intrahousehold distribution, also part of the utilization dimension, are less studied and standardized instruments for measuring both are lacking. The embodiment of food insecurity has focused on child growth, although a growing literature addresses adult mental wellbeing and chronic and infectious disease risk.Conclusions: We see the potential to expand outcomes to include reproductive and immune function, physical activity, and the gut microbiome. Human biologists/ecologists are well-positioned to advance understanding of the human health impacts of food insecurity and provide data to support intervention efforts.

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A New Raster-Based Metric to Measure Relative Food Availability in Rural Areas: A Case Study in Southeastern North Carolina

Cited by 9 publications

References 45 publications

The Local Food Environment and Food Security: The Health Behavior Role of Social Capital

The Local Food Environment and Food Security: The Health Behavior Role of Social Capital

Exploring absolute and relative measures of exposure to food environments in relation to dietary patterns among European adults

Measuring food insecurity: An introduction to tools for human biologists and ecologists

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