Abstract

BackgroundDespite increased attention on retail food environments and fast food consumption, results from previous studies have been inconsistent. Variation in measurement of exposure to retail food environments and the context of the built environment are possible reasons for inconsistencies. The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between exposure to fast food environment and fast food consumption among young adults, and to explore possible associations between built environment and fast food consumption.MethodsWe employed an observational, cross-sectional study design. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2017. In a sample of 591 young adults aged 16–30 years in five Canadian cities, we constructed and computed individual-level time-weighted number and ratio of fast food outlets in activity spaces derived from GPS trajectory data. Negative binomial regression models estimated the associations between exposure measures and frequency of fast food consumption (number of times consuming fast food meals in a seven-day period), controlling for built environment characterization and individual-level characteristics.ResultsSignificant positive associations were found between time-weighted number of fast food outlets and count of fast food meals consumed per week in models using a radius of 500 m (IRR = 1.078, 95% CI: 0.999, 1.163), 1 km (IRR = 1.135, 95% CI: 1.024, 1.259), or 1.5 km (IRR = 1.138, 95% CI: 1.004, 1.289) around GPS tracks, when generating activity spaces. However, time-weighted ratio of fast food outlets was only significantly associated with count of fast food meals consumed when a radius of 500 m is used (IRR = 1.478, 95% CI: 1.032, 2.123). The time-weighted Active Living Environment Index with Transit measure was significantly negatively related to count of fast food meals consumed across all models.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated associations of time-weighted activity space-based exposure to fast food outlets and fast food consumption frequency in a sample of young adults in urban Canada, and provides evidence of the association between context of built environment and fast food consumption, furthering discussion on the utility of individual-level, activity space-based data and methods in food environment research. These results imply that both food retail composition and activity spaces in urban areas are important factors to consider when studying diets.

Highlights

  • Despite increased attention on retail food environments and fast food consumption, results from previous studies have been inconsistent

  • For one-unit increase in the logtransformed time-weighted fast food outlet number, the expected weekly count of fast food consumption increased by 7.8%, 13.5%

  • The disparity may be due to different study populations, study regions, characterization of outcome variable, and the methods of defining activity spaces from Global Positioning System (GPS) data

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Summary

Introduction

Despite increased attention on retail food environments and fast food consumption, results from previous studies have been inconsistent. Variation in measurement of exposure to retail food environments and the context of the built environment are possible reasons for inconsistencies. Researchers have examined the links between levels of fast food consumption and exposure to fast food outlets with a focus on student [5], adolescent [6], middle-aged [7], and entire population groups [8, 9]. Despite researchers’ increased attention on retail food environments and fast food consumption, results from studies have been inconsistent. Apart from differences in populations, study areas, and study periods, which may lead to varied results, both differences in how exposure to the retail food environment has been measured and how the context of the built environment affects a person’s interactions with their surroundings are possible reasons for the aforementioned inconsistencies

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