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Weight Management

Retail food environment quality and self-reported food purchasing decisions of women living in food swamps

(PS13-A11) Retail Food Environment Quality and Self-reported Food Purchasing Decisions of Women Living in Food Swamps

Sunday, November 19, 2023
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7
At the population level, the quality of the retail food environment (RFE) is a contributor to unhealthy dietary patterns. Living in a food swamp, where unhealthy food options (e.g., highly processed foods) are more abundant than healthy ones, is associated with higher rates of obesity. More research is needed to examine how the RFE is related to food purchasing on an individual level. Research also should determine if the negative effects of food swamps are especially pronounced for individuals who have food addiction (FA), i.e., an addictive-like response to processed foods. Individuals with a higher BMI, lower SES, and racial minority groups also might be more susceptible to the influence of an unhealthy RFE. This project aimed to 1) investigate the relationship between quality of the RFE and individual-level food purchasing decisions among women living in food swamps and 2) examine differences in the RFE and food purchasing patterns among high-risk groups. Participants (N = 333) were adult women who completed self-report questionnaires, including the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0. The Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI) was used to compare availability of healthy (e.g., grocery stores) and unhealthy (e.g., fast food) food outlets in each participant’s county. Lower mRFEI scores indicate food swamps. Participants also reported how often per month they purchased food from various retailers. Fifty-four percent of participants had overweight or obesity, 25% identified as non-white, 33% had elevated levels of FA, and 39% were classified as low SES. Results indicated that more unhealthy food stores in the RFE was associated with more frequent unhealthy purchasing (r = .126, p = .022). The number of healthy food options in the RFE was unrelated to individual purchasing patterns (p = .343). mRFEI scores and purchasing patterns did not differ by race (p > .05). Women with lower SES tended to live in lower quality RFEs (r = .115, p = .035). Participants with higher FA reported more frequent purchasing from both unhealthy and healthy retailers compared to those without FA (p’s < .001). Among women with overweight or obesity, more unhealthy food retailers were related to more unhealthy purchasing (r = .273, p < .001), yet these variables were unrelated among those without overweight/obesity, suggesting the impact of the RFE on individual purchasing decisions differs across these subgroups. Results suggest that the presence of unhealthy options in the RFE may have a larger impact on individual food choice than the healthy options, and that impact of the RFE on purchasing depends on weight status. Additional research should explore in detail the mechanisms underlying the impact of obesogenic food cues in the RFE on the food purchasing patterns of individuals.