Examining neighborhood and interpersonal norms and social support on fruit and vegetable intake in low-income communities

Akilah Dulin,Michelle Cardel,Kate B Carey,Patricia M Risica,Kim M Gans,Jennifer Mello,Sarah Nadimpalli,Rashid Ahmed,Chanelle J Howe

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5356-2

Abstract

BackgroundWe examined whether neighborhood-, friend-, and family- norms and social support for consumption and purchase of fruits and vegetables (F&V) were associated with F&V intake among low-income residents in subsidized housing communities. We examined baseline data from a study ancillary to the Live Well/Viva Bien intervention. Participants included 290 residents in four low-income subsidized housing sites who were ≥ 18 years of age, English and/or Spanish speaking, and without medical conditions that prevented consumption of F&V.MethodsLinear regression models examined associations of norms and social support with F&V intake after adjustments for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsIn the analysis, neighborhood social support for F&V was associated with a 0.31 cup increase in F&V intake (95% CI = 0.05, 0.57). The family norm for eating F&V and family social support for eating F&V were associated with a 0.32 cup (95% CI = 0.13, 0.52) and 0.42 cup (95% CI = 0.19, 0.64) increase in F&V intake, respectively.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, no other studies have examined neighborhood, family, and peer norms and social support simultaneously and in relation to F&V intake. These findings may inform neighborhood interventions and community-level policies to reduce neighborhood disparities in F&V consumption.

Highlights

We examined whether neighborhood, friend, and family- norms and social support for consumption and purchase of fruits and vegetables (F&V) were associated with F&V intake among low-income residents in subsidized housing communities
The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults consume between 1 to 2 cups of fruit and 1 to 2 1⁄2 cups of vegetables each day depending on caloric intake [1]
Neighborhood conceptual frameworks like the Community Energy Balance Framework and some study findings suggest that neighborhood-level disparities in F&V intake may partially result from characteristics of the food environment that differ by neighborhood-level socioeconomic position (SEP) [8,9,10]

Summary

Introduction

We examined whether neighborhood-, friend-, and family- norms and social support for consumption and purchase of fruits and vegetables (F&V) were associated with F&V intake among low-income residents in subsidized housing communities. Fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake among adults in the United States (U.S.) is low [1]. Neighborhood conceptual frameworks like the Community Energy Balance Framework and some study findings suggest that neighborhood-level disparities in F&V intake may partially result from characteristics of the food environment that differ by neighborhood-level SEP [8,9,10]. Lower neighborhood-level SEP food environments may be associated with lower F&V intake due to access These urban food deserts (i.e., census tracts where at least 33% of the population lives more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store) [15] and food swamps

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