Neighborhood Food Environment, Diet, and Obesity Among Los Angeles County Adults, 2011.
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to examine whether an association exists between the number and type of food outlets in a neighborhood and dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) among adults in Los Angeles County. We also assessed whether this association depends on the geographic size of the food environment.


METHODS
We analyzed data from the 2011 Los Angeles County Health Survey. We created buffers (from 0.25 to 3.0 miles in radius) centered in respondents' residential addresses and counted the number of food outlets by type in each buffer. Dependent variables were weekly intake of fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast food; BMI; and being overweight (BMI ≥25.0 kg/m(2)) or obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m(2)). Explanatory variables were the number of outlets classified as fast-food outlets, convenience stores, small food stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets. Regressions were estimated for all sets of explanatory variables and buffer size combinations (150 total effects).


RESULTS
Only 2 of 150 effects were significant after being adjusted for multiple comparisons. The number of fast-food restaurants in nonwalkable areas (in a 3.0-mile radius) was positively associated with fast-food consumption, and the number of convenience stores in a walkable distance (in a 0.25-mile radius) was negatively associated with obesity.


CONCLUSIONS
Little evidence was found for associations between proximity of respondents' homes to food outlets and dietary intake or BMI among adults in Los Angeles County. A possible explanation for the null finding is that shopping patterns are weakly related to neighborhoods in Los Angeles County because of motorized transportation.
Pardee RAND Graduate School, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90407. Email: nmejia@prgs.edu.
Nelly
N
Mejia
Los Angeles County Public Health, Los Angeles, California.
Amy S
AS
Lightstone
Los Angeles County Public Health, Los Angeles, California.
Ricardo
R
Basurto-Davila
Los Angeles County Public Health, Los Angeles, California.
Douglas M
DM
Morales
RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California.
Roland
R
Sturm
D000328:Adult; D001628:Beverages / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003132:Commerce; D004032:Diet / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002149:Energy Intake; D004779:Environment Design; D057140:Fast Foods; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005638:Fruit; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057185:Sedentary Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014675:Vegetables; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D013549:Sweetening Agents