Food vendors, neighborhood deprivation, and BMI

Zhang, YT, BA Laraia, MS Mujahid, A Tamayo, SD Blanchard, EM Warton, NM Kelly, HH Moffet, D Schillinger, N Adler, and AJ Karter. 2015. Does food vendor density mediate the association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI?: A G-computation mediation analysis. Epidemiology 26(3):344-52

In previous research, neighborhood deprivation was positively associated with body mass index (BMI) among adults with diabetes. We assessed whether the association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI is attributable, in part, to geographic variation in the availability of healthful and unhealthful food vendors. Subjects were 16,634 participants of the Diabetes Study of Northern California. Neighborhood deprivation and healthful (supermarket and produce) and unhealthful (fast food outlets and convenience stores) food vendor kernel density were calculated at each participant's residential block centroid. Availability of food vendors, both healthful and unhealthful, did not appear to explain the association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI in this population of adults with diabetes.

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Spatial pattern of BMI among adults in Northern California

Laraia, B. A., S. D. Blanchard, A. J. Karter, J. C. Jones-Smith, M. Warton, E. Kersten, M. Jerrett, H. H. Moffet, N. Adler, D. Schillinger, and M. Kelly. 2014. Spatial pattern of Body Mass Index among adults in the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). International Journal of Health Geographics 13:48 doi:10.1186/1476-072X-13-48

clustering of high and low BMIThe role that environmental factors, such as neighborhood socioeconomics, food, and physical environment, play in the risk of obesity and chronic diseases is not well quantified. Understanding how spatial distribution of disease risk factors overlap with that of environmental (contextual) characteristics may inform health interventions and policies aimed at reducing the environment risk factors.

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Income and ethnicity differences among people with diabetes

Jones Smith, J. C., M. Wharton, M. Kelly, E. Kersten, A. Karter, N. Adler, D. Schillinger, H. Moffett, B. A. Laraia. 2013. Obesity and the food environment: income and ethnicity differences among people with diabetes, the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). Diabetes Care 36:2697-2705

The objectives of this study were to test whether there was an association between food environments and obesity among adults with diabetes and whether this relationship differed according to individual income or race/ethnicity. We found that more healthful food environments were associated with lower obesity in the highest income groups among whites, Latinos, and Asians. The association was negative, but smaller and not statistically significant, among high-income blacks. In contrast, a more healthful food environment was associated with higher obesity among participants in the lowest-income group which was statistically significant for black participants in this income category. These findings suggest that the availability of healthful food environments may have different health implications when financial resources are severely constrained. Journal link.