| The role of local food availability in explaining obesity risk among young school-aged children. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22381683 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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In recent years, research and public policy attention has increasingly focused on understanding whether modifiable aspects of the local food environment - the types and composition of food outlets families have proximate access to - are drivers of and potential solutions to the problem of childhood obesity in the United States. Given that much of the earlier published research has documented greater concentrations of fast-food outlets alongside limited access to large grocery stores in neighborhoods with higher shares of racial/ethnic minority groups and residents living in poverty, differences in retail food contexts may indeed exacerbate notable child obesity disparities along socioeconomic and racial/ethnic lines. This paper examines whether the lack of access to more healthy food retailers and/or the greater availability of "unhealthy" food purveyors in residential neighborhoods explains children's risk of excessive weight gain, and whether differential food availability explains obesity disparities. I do so by analyzing a national survey of U.S. children followed over elementary school (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort) who are linked to detailed, longitudinal food availability measures from a comprehensive business establishment database (the National Establishment Time Series). I find that children who live in residentially poor and minority neighborhoods are indeed more likely to have greater access to fast-food outlets and convenience stores. However, these neighborhoods also have greater access to other food establishments that have not been linked to increased obesity risk, including large-scale grocery stores. When examined in a multi-level modeling framework, differential exposure to food outlets does not independently explain weight gain over time in this sample of elementary school-aged children. Variation in residential food outlet availability also does not explain socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differences. It may thus be important to reconsider whether food access is, in all settings, a salient factor in understanding obesity risk among young children. |
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Authors:
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Helen Lee |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-2-10 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Social science & medicine (1982) Volume: - ISSN: 1873-5347 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2012 Feb |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-3-2 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8303205 Medline TA: Soc Sci Med Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
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Public Policy Institute of California, 500 Washington Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94111, United States. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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