The local food environment and diet: a systematic review.
Despite growing attention to the problem of obesogenic environments, there has not been a comprehensive review evaluating the food environment-diet relationship. This study aims to evaluate this relationship in the current literature, focusing specifically on the method of exposure assessment (GIS, survey, or store audit). This study also explores 5 dimensions of "food access" (availability, accessibility, affordability, accommodation, acceptability) using a conceptual definition proposed by Penchansky and Thomas (1981). Articles were retrieved through a systematic keyword search in Web of Science and supplemented by the reference lists of included studies. Thirty-eight studies were reviewed and categorized by the exposure assessment method and the conceptual dimensions of access it captured. GIS-based measures were the most common measures, but were less consistently associated with diet than other measures. Few studies examined dimensions of affordability, accommodation, and acceptability. Because GIS-based measures on their own may not capture important non-geographic dimensions of access, a set of recommendations for future researchers is outlined.
Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02114, USA. caitlincaspi@gmail.com
Caitlin E
CE
Caspi
Glorian
G
Sorensen
S V
SV
Subramanian
Ichiro
I
Kawachi
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged