Do GIS-derived measures of fast food retailers convey perceived fast food opportunities? Implications for food environment assessment.
Geographic information systems (GISs) have been used to define fast food availability, with higher availability perhaps promoting poorer quality diets. Alternative measures involve perceptions; however, few studies have examined associations between GIS-derived and perceived measures of the food environment.



Telephone surveys of 705 participants within an eight-county region in South Carolina were analyzed using logistic regression to examine relationships between geographic presence of and distance to various types of food retailers and perceived fast food availability.



The mean distance to the nearest fast food restaurant was 6.1 miles, with 16% of participants having a fast food restaurant within 1 mile of home. The geographic presence of and distance to all food retailer types were significantly associated with perceived availability of fast food in unadjusted models. After adjustment, only the presence of a fast food restaurant or pharmacy was significantly associated with greater odds of higher perceived availability of fast food. Greater odds of lower perceived availability of fast food were observed with the presence of a dollar store and increasing distance to the nearest supermarket or pharmacy.



Measures of fast food availability, whether objective or perceived, may not be interchangeable. Researchers should carefully decide on the appropriate measurement tool-GIS-derived or perceived-in food environment studies.
Research Design and Analytics, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Timothy L
TL
Barnes
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Natalie
N
Colabianchi
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Darcy A
DA
Freedman
College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Bethany A
BA
Bell
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia. Electronic address: liese@sc.edu.
Angela D
AD
Liese
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004777:Environment; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000379:methods*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012147:Restaurants / Q000600:supply & distribution; D012931:Social Environment; D013022:South Carolina
Fast food; Food retailers; GIS; Geographic; Perception; Survey