title: The food environment in an urban Mexican American community.
abstract: The objective was to determine whether ethnic composition of neighborhoods is associated with number and type of food stores in an urban, Mexican American US community. Data were from a commercial food store data source and the US Census. Multivariate count models were used to test associations with adjustment for neighborhood demographics, income, and commercialization. Neighborhoods at the 75th percentile of percent Mexican American (76%) had nearly four times the number of convenience stores (RR=3.9, 95% CI: 2.2-7.0) compared with neighborhoods at the 25th percentile (36%). Percent Mexican American in the neighborhood was not associated with the availability of other food store types (supermarkets, grocery stores, specialty stores, convenience stores with gas stations) in the adjusted model. The impact of greater access to convenience stores on Mexican American residents' diets requires exploration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. llisabet@umich.edu
authors.forename: Lynda D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Lisabeth
authors.forename: Brisa N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Escobar
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Meurer
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zuniga
authors.forename: Nelda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Devin L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Lewis B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Morgenstern
mesh_terms: D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005522:Food Services; D006801:Humans; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013781:Texas; D014504:Urban Health