Abstract
BackgroundThe neighbourhood environment may play an important role in diet quality. Most previous research has examined the associations between neighbourhood food environment and diet quality, and neighbourhood socioeconomic status and diet quality separately. This study investigated the independent and joint effects of neighbourhood food environment and neighbourhood socioeconomic status in relation to diet quality in Canadian adults.MethodsWe undertook a cross-sectional study with n = 446 adults in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Individual-level data on diet and socio-demographic and health-related characteristics were captured from two self-report internet-based questionnaires, the Canadian Diet History Questionnaire II (C-DHQ II) and the Past Year Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ). Neighbourhood environment data were derived from dissemination area level Canadian Census data, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) databases. Neighbourhood was defined as a 400 m network-based ‘walkshed’ around each participant’s household. Using GIS we objectively-assessed the density, diversity, and presence of specific food destination types within the participant’s walkshed. A seven variable socioeconomic deprivation index was derived from Canadian Census variables and estimated for each walkshed. The Canadian adapted Healthy Eating Index (C-HEI), used to assess diet quality was estimated from food intakes reported on C-DHQ II. Multivariable linear regression was used to test for associations between walkshed food environment variables, walkshed socioeconomic status, and diet quality (C-HEI), adjusting for individual level socio-demographic and health-related covariates. Interaction effects between walkshed socioeconomic status and walkshed food environment variables on diet quality (C-HEI) were also tested.ResultsAfter adjustment for covariates, food destination density was positively associated with the C-HEI (β 0.06, 95 % CI 0.01-0.12, p = 0.04) though the magnitude of the association was small. Walkshed socioeconomic status was not significantly associated with the C-HEI. We found no statistically significant interactions between walkshed food environment variables and socioeconomic status in relation to the C-HEI. Self-reported physical and mental health, time spent in neighbourhood, and dog ownership were also significantly (p < .05) associated with diet quality.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that larger density of local food destinations may is associated with better diet quality in adults.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3631-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The neighbourhood environment may play an important role in diet quality
Sample characteristics After removing participants with incomplete data required for regression analysis (n = 34), the final analytic sample consisted of 466 participants
The sample consisted of 61.4 % women, 79.6 % aged ≥40 years, 93.5 % were Caucasian, 78.5 % were married or living with a partner, 70.0 % were university educated, 77.2 % had a gross household income > $60 000, 96.4 % were nonsmokers, 91.3 % had access to a vehicle for personal use, Table 1 Scoring criteria for Canadian adapted Healthy Eating Index (C-HEI)a
Summary
The neighbourhood environment may play an important role in diet quality. Most previous research has examined the associations between neighbourhood food environment and diet quality, and neighbourhood socioeconomic status and diet quality separately. This study investigated the independent and joint effects of neighbourhood food environment and neighbourhood socioeconomic status in relation to diet quality in Canadian adults. Many studies have examined the associations between diet (namely fruit and vegetable and fast-food consumption), the neighbourhood food environment [7,8,9], and neighbourhood socioeconomic environment [10,11,12]. Studies investigating relations between the objectively-assessed neighbourhood food environment and diet have typically relied on Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-derived measures proximity and availability of ‘healthy food destinations’ (e.g. supermarkets) and ‘unhealthy food destinations’ (e.g., fast-food restaurants, convenience stores) [8, 13]. While fruits, vegetables and fast-food are important components of a diet, these indicators alone do not provide a comprehensive measure of diet quality (i.e., variety, adequacy, moderation, and balance)
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