Neighborhood supermarket access and childhood obesity: A systematic review

Abstract

Summary Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing public health issues nowadays. The environmental factors have been identified as potential risks for obesity, as they may influence people's lifestyle behaviours. Lack of access to supermarkets that usually provide healthy food options has been found to be a risk factor for childhood obesity in several studies. However, findings remained inconclusive. We aimed to systematically review the association between access to supermarkets and childhood obesity. A literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase for studies published before 1 January 2019. Twenty‐four studies conducted in four countries were identified, from which data on the basic characteristics of studies and participants, measures of access to supermarkets, and associations between access to supermarkets and weight‐related behaviours and outcomes were extracted. The median sample size was 1858 participants. Half of the included studies indicated a negative association, one fourth reported a positive association, and the remaining one fourth did not find a significant association. Better designed studies are necessary to achieve a robust understanding of this epidemiological relationship in the future.

Access to fruit and vegetable markets and childhood obesity: A systematic review

“…This is the first systematic review of the association between access to FVMs and the risk for childhood obesity. Some previous studies have reviewed the association between access to some commonly studied food outlets and childhood obesity, such as supermarkets, 33 convenience stores, 34 full‐service restaurants, 35 and fast‐food restaurants 36 . However, studies on the association between FVM access and childhood obesity have not yet been systematically reviewed.…”

The impact of change in neighborhood poverty on BMI trajectory of 37,544 New York City youth: a longitudinal study

“…Research can identify and tease apart relevant factors, but it would be unrealistic to expect any single factor to have an enormous and direct impact. For example, studies examining neighborhood characteristics such as the introduction of supermarkets to food deserts have demonstrated modest or mixed effects [26,33]; however this does not mean that adding supermarkets to food deserts is futile -it simply demonstrates that supermarkets are only one contributor to multifaceted obesity risk. Aside from bariatric surgery and pharmacologic agents, most isolated obesity interventions (especially those at higher levels of the ecological model [86,87]) are less likely to have substantial and lasting impact on obesity but they are nonetheless important and may contribute to incremental reduction in risk.…”

“…Various approaches to understanding neighborhood influence exist. Some studies examine neighborhood characteristics collectively via summary measures such as the neighborhood deprivation index [32] -an approach well suited to understanding how overall neighborhood environment collectively impacts obesity; in contrast, other studies examine an individual neighborhood characteristic (such as access to supermarkets) in isolation -an approach well suited to informing focused policy change [33].…”

Evidence That Changes in Community Food Environments Lead to Changes in Children’s Weight: Results from a Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study

“…7 However, conclusive evidence of the impact of changes in specific aspects of the community food environment on weight outcomes is notably lacking. 8,9 As a result, communities are left without a clear path for achieving intended health outcomes through interventions to improve their food environments.…”

“…8 Higher fast-food availability was associated with higher weight in children, but only in low-income populations. 8 In their reviews, both Cobb and colleagues and Zhou and colleagues 9 summarized the complex associations between supermarket availability and children's weight status, finding no relationships in the majority of studies. Moreover, some studies reported negative associations (higher supermarket availability associated with lower weight), as well as positive associations (higher supermarket availability associated with higher weight).…”