title: Mobile food vendors in urban neighborhoods-implications for diet and diet-related health by weather and season.
abstract: This study describes mobile food vendors (street vendors) in Bronx, NY, considering neighborhood-level correlations with demographic, diet, and diet-related health measures from City data. Vendors offering exclusively "less-healthy" foods (e.g., chips, processed meats, sweets) outnumbered vendors offering exclusively "healthier" foods (e.g., produce, whole grains, nuts). Wet days and winter months reduced all vending on streets, but exclusively "less-healthy" vending most. In summer, exclusively "less-healthy" vending per capita inversely correlated with neighborhood-mean fruit-and-vegetable consumption and directly correlated with neighborhood-mean BMI and prevalences of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia (Spearman correlations 0.90-1.00, p values 0.037 to <0.001). In winter, "less-healthy" vending per capita directly correlated with proportions of Hispanic residents and those living in poverty (Spearman correlations 0.90, p values 0.037). Mobile food vending may contribute negatively to urban food-environment healthfulness overall, but exacerbation of demographic, diet, and diet-related health disparities may vary by weather, season, and neighborhood characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. Electronic address: slucan@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sean C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lucan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Lehman College, City University of New York, Bronx, NY, USA; City University of New York School of Public Health at Hunter College, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: Andrew.Maroko@lehman.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Maroko
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. Electronic address: joel.bumol@med.einstein.yu.edu.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bumol
authors.affiliation: Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: mvarona1@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varona
authors.affiliation: City University of New York School of Public Health at Hunter College, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: edward.torrens@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Torrens
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. Electronic address: clyde.schechter@einstein.yu.edu.
authors.forename: Clyde B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Schechter
mesh_terms: D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005523:Food Supply / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012621:Seasons; D014887:Weather
keywords: Disparities; Food environment; Mobile food vendors; Seasonality; Street foods