title: Diet And Perceptions Change With Supermarket Introduction In A Food Desert, But Not Because Of Supermarket Use.
abstract: Placing full-service supermarkets in food deserts--areas with limited access to healthy food--has been promoted as a way to reduce inequalities in access to healthy food, improve diet, and reduce the risk of obesity. However, previous studies provide scant evidence of such impacts. We surveyed households in two Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, neighborhoods in 2011 and 2014, one of which received a new supermarket in 2013. Comparing trends in the two neighborhoods, we obtained evidence of multiple positive impacts from new supermarket placement. In the new supermarket neighborhood we found net positive changes in overall dietary quality; average daily intakes of kilocalories and added sugars; and percentage of kilocalories from solid fats, added sugars, and alcohol. However, the only positive outcome in the recipient neighborhood specifically associated with regular use of the new supermarket was improved perceived access to healthy food. We did not observe differential improvement between the neighborhoods in fruit and vegetable intake, whole grain consumption, or body mass index. Incentivizing supermarkets to locate in food deserts is appropriate. However, efforts should proceed with caution, until the mechanisms by which the stores affect diet and their ability to influence weight status are better understood.
authors.affiliation: Tamara Dubowitz (dubowitz@rand.org) is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dubowitz
authors.affiliation: Madhumita Ghosh-Dastidar is a senior statistician at RAND in Arlington, Virginia.
authors.forename: Madhumita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghosh-Dastidar
authors.affiliation: Deborah A. Cohen is a senior natural scientist at RAND in Santa Monica, California.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Robin Beckman is a research programmer at RAND in Santa Monica.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beckman
authors.affiliation: Elizabeth D. Steiner is a project associate at RAND in Pittsburgh.
authors.forename: Elizabeth D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.affiliation: Gerald P. Hunter is a research programmer at RAND in Pittsburgh.
authors.forename: Gerald P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: Karen R. Flórez is an associate social scientist at RAND in Santa Monica.
authors.forename: Karen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Flórez
authors.affiliation: Christina Huang is a doctoral fellow at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy analyst at RAND, both in Santa Monica.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Christine A. Vaughan is a behavioral scientist at RAND in Santa Monica.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.affiliation: Jennifer C. Sloan is a research assistant at RAND in Pittsburgh.
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Sloan
authors.affiliation: Shannon N. Zenk is an associate professor in the Department of Health Systems Science at the University of Illinois, in Chicago.
authors.forename: Shannon N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Zenk
authors.affiliation: Steven Cummins is a professor of population health and a National Institute for Health Research Senior Fellow in the Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cummins
authors.affiliation: Rebecca L. Collins is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND in Santa Monica.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004032:Diet; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D005260:Female; D019649:Food Industry; D005523:Food Supply / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011203:Poverty; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Food Deserts; Food access; Food and Obesity Policy; Healthy Food Financing Initiative