Geographic, Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Availability of Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Among Low-Income Women Across the Urban–Rural Continuum

A National Study of the Association Between Food Environments and County-Level Health Outcomes

“…The presence of 1 restaurant per 1,000 non‐metro residents is associated with a 0.11% lower diabetes rate, and a 0.51% lower obesity rate. Previous studies have mixed findings: (1) eating away from home was associated with lower diet quality and greater caloric intake 71 ; (2) the number of fast food and full‐service restaurants per capita increased obesity rates over time 72 ; (3) there was no relationship between access to full‐service restaurants and obesity in rural areas 73 ; and (4) higher‐priced meals from full‐service restaurants were negatively associated with overweight or obesity, 60 a result that would make sense if one assumes that people compensate for higher calorie meals eaten at full‐service restaurants 74 . More studies of food offerings at full‐service restaurants along with consumer choices in such settings are needed.…”

“…A recent study of a large rural area found that greater population density was associated with better access to fruits and vegetables 70 . Parallel with findings showing rural health disparities, rural food studies have found less access to larger‐size food stores and to healthy food items in rural areas; 71–74 and less availability of fruits and vegetables in rural convenience stores vs rural grocery stores 70 . Barriers to healthy food in rural areas include distant location from a supermarket, lack of public transportation, limited financial resources, and lack of a vehicle 70…”

Relationship of Food Availability and Accessibility to Women's Body Weights in Rural Upstate New York

“…7−15 Access to food stores in rural areas has been much less studied, and existing evidence suggests that the composition of rural food store environments may differ significantly from urban and suburban food environments. 16 For instance, rural food environments often have a larger proportion of nontraditional food stores (eg, drug stores and dollar stores). Some of these nontraditional food stores have been found to carry many healthful items, as our previous research in the study area as well as the research of others has shown.…”

Association between Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Purchasing Behaviors, Food Insecurity Status and Geographic Food Access among a Lower-Income, Racially/Ethnically Diverse Cohort in Central Texas

“…Many researchers and policy advocates have examined and emphasized the role of physical geographic access to food, particularly to large retailers such as supermarkets and large grocery stores, as a key indicator of healthy food access and healthy eating behaviors [ 17 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. However, the literature demonstrating the impact of introducing new grocery stores into communities on dietary behaviors has had mixed findings [ 14 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”