Abstract
To advance our understanding of multiple health-related dimensions of the built environment, this study examined associations among nutrition, tobacco, and physical activity community and consumer environments. Community environment measures included supermarket access, tobacco outlet density, and physical activity resource density in store neighborhoods. Cross-sectional observations of the nutrition, tobacco and physical activity environments were conducted in 2011 at and around 303 food stores that sold tobacco products in three North Carolina counties. Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression were used to examine associations between community and consumer environments. Correlations between community nutrition, tobacco, and physical activity environments ranged from slight to fair (-. 0.35 to 0.20) and from poor to fair (-. 0.01 to -. 0.38) between consumer environments. Significant relationships between consumer tobacco and nutrition environments were found after controlling for store and neighborhood characteristics. For example, stores with higher amounts of interior tobacco marketing had higher healthy food availability (p. =. 0.001), while stores with higher amounts of exterior tobacco marketing had lower healthy food availability (p. =. 0.02). Community and consumer environments for nutrition, tobacco, and physical activity were interrelated. Measures that assess single aspects of community or consumer environments could miss characteristics that may influence customer purchasing. Even chain supermarkets, typically regarded as healthful food sources compared to smaller food stores, may expose customers to tobacco marketing inside. Future research could explore combining efforts to reduce obesity and tobacco use by addressing tobacco marketing, healthy food availability and physical activity opportunities at retail food outlets.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 730-736 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| Volume | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Funding
This study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute ( U01 CA154281 ), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Cancer Research Fund, Health- e -NC, and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Education Program doctoral training support ( R25 ) to Shyanika Rose. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or any other entity. Dr. D'Angelo and Ms. Meyers have no competing interests. Dr. Rose is currently employed at the Schroeder Institute at Legacy. Dr. Ribisl has received past funding from the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the United States Department of Justice, the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission, and internal funds at UNC. He has consulted for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products and is a member of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee — the views expressed in this paper are his and not those of the FDA. Dr. Evenson has received past funding from the NIH, CDC, RWJF, Gatorade, the American Heart Association, and internal funds at UNC. Dr. Fleischhacker has been supported on grants from the NIH, RWJF, US Department of Agriculture, NC Health and Wellness Trust, and Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trusts. She is currently employed by the NIH. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or any other entity mentioned in this disclosure statement.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Gatorade | |
| NC Health and Wellness Trust | |
| NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission | |
| US Department of Agriculture | |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | |
| National Childhood Cancer Registry – National Cancer Institute | U01 CA154281 |
| U.S. Department of Justice | |
| Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | |
| American Heart Association | |
| University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University | |
| University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
Keywords
- Built environment
- Community
- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Public health
- Tobacco control
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Health Informatics
