Food Availability Research Articles

Experiences of living with overweight/obesity and early type 2 diabetes in Singapore—a qualitative interview study

ObjectivesTo understand the lived experience of adults with overweight/obesity and early type 2 diabetes in a modern urban environment, and the interrelations among the various aspects of these experiences and...

Benchmarking the university campus food environment and exploring student perspectives about food insecurity and healthy eating: a case study from Australia

ObjectiveTo benchmark the university food environment and explore students’ experiences with food insecurity and healthy eating in order to inform interventions to improve access and affordability of healthy foods for university students.DesignA food environment audit was conducted on the university campus using the Uni-Food tool from April to May 2022 and was comprised of three main components, university systems and governance, campus facilities and environment, and food retail outlets. A qualitative study design was also used to conduct focus groups and semi-structured interviews with students to explore key themes regarding their experiences with food insecurity and healthy eating.SettingMacquarie University, Australia.ParticipantsFor the food environment audit 24 retail outlets on campus and for the qualitative component 29 domestic and international students enrolled at Macquarie University.ResultsThe university only scored 27% in total for all components in the food environment audit. The results showed the need for better governance and leadership of the food environment. The qualitative component suggested that the main barriers to accessing healthy foods were related to availability, pricing, and knowledge of healthy foods. Future intervention ideas included free fruits and vegetables, food relief, discounts, improved self-catering facilities, education, and increased healthy food outlets.ConclusionsImproving governance measures related to healthy eating on campus are a core priority to strengthen the food environment and students identified pricing and availability as key issues. These findings will inform effective and feasible interventions to improve food security and healthy eating on campus.

Patterns of Social Needs Predict Quality-of-Life and Healthcare Utilization Outcomes in Patients from a Large Hospital System.

Unmet social needs (SNs) often coexist in distinct patterns within specific population subgroups, yet these patterns are understudied. To identify patterns of social needs (PSNs) and characterize their associations with health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and healthcare utilization (HCU). Observational study using data on SNs screening, HRQoL (i.e., low mental and physical health), and 90-day HCU (i.e., emergency visits and hospital admission). Among patients with any SNs, latent class analysis was conducted to identify unique PSNs. For all patients and by race and age subgroups, compared with no SNs, we calculated the risks of poor HRQoL and time to first HCU following SNs screening for each PSN. Adult patients undergoing SNs screening at the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in Massachusetts, United States, between March 2018 and January 2023. SNs included: education, employment, family care, food, housing, medication, transportation, and ability to pay for household utilities. HRQoL was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global-10. Six unique PSNs were identified: "high number of social needs," "food and utility access," "employment needs," "interested in education," "housing instability," and "transportation barriers." In 14,230 patients with HRQoL data, PSNs increased the risks of poor mental health, with risk ratios ranging from 1.07(95%CI:1.01-1.13) to 1.80(95%CI:1.74-1.86). Analysis of poor physical health yielded similar findings, except that the "interested in education" showed a mild protective effect (0.97[95%CI:0.94-1.00]). In 105,110 patients, PSNs increased the risk of 90-day HCU, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.09(95%CI:0.99-1.21) to 1.70(95%CI:1.52-1.90). Findings were generally consistent in subgroup analyses by race and age. Certain SNs coexist in distinct patterns and result in poorer HRQoL and more HCU. Understanding PSNs allows policymakers, public health practitioners, and social workers to identify at-risk patients and implement integrated, system-wide, and community-based interventions.

Experimental manipulation of food availability and macroparasite prevalence reveal differential effects on space use in wild rodents.

Research Highlight: Mistrick, J., Veitch, J. S. M., Kitchen, S. M., Clague, S., Newman, B. C., Hall, R. J., Budischak, S. A., Forbes, K. M., & Craft, M. E. (2024). Effects of food supplementation and helminth removal on space use and spatial overlap in wild rodent populations. Journal of Animal Ecology. http://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14067. The spread of pathogens has been of long-standing interest, even before dramatic outbreaks of avian influenza and the coronavirus pandemic spiked broad public interest. However, the dynamics of pathogen spread in wild populations are complex, with multiple effects shaping where animals go (their space use), population density and, more fundamentally, the resultant patterns of contacts (direct or indirect) among individuals. Thus, experimental studies exploring the dynamics of contact under different sets of conditions are needed. In the current field study, Mistrick etal. (2024) used a multifactorial experimental design, manipulating food availability and individual pathogen infection state in wild bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). They found that while food availability, individual traits and seasonality can affect how far individual voles moved, the degree of overlap between individual voles remained largely the same despite a high variation in population density-which itself was affected by food availability. These results highlight how biotic and abiotic factors can shape patterns of space use and balance the level of spatial overlap through multiple pathways.

Enduring Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Access, Nutrition, and Well-Being in Rural Appalachia

Enduring Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Access, Nutrition, and Well-Being in Rural Appalachia

Deer activity levels and patterns vary along gradients of food availability and anthropogenic development

Animal activity reflects behavioral decisions that depend upon environmental context. Prior studies typically estimated activity distributions within few areas, which has limited quantitative assessment of activity changes across environmental gradients. We examined relationships between two response variables, activity level (fraction of each day spent active) and pattern (distribution of activity across a diel cycle) of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), with four predictors—deer density, anthropogenic development, and food availability from woody twigs and agriculture. We estimated activity levels and patterns with cameras in 48 different 10.36-km2 landscapes across three larger regions. Activity levels increased with greater building density, likely due to heightened anthropogenic disturbance, but did not vary with food availability. In contrast, activity patterns responded to an interaction between twigs and agriculture, consistent with a functional response in habitat use. When agricultural land was limited, greater woody twig density was associated with reduced activity during night and evening. When agricultural land was plentiful, greater woody twig density was associated with more pronounced activity during night and evening. The region with the highest activity level also experienced the most deer-vehicle collisions. We highlight how studies of spatial variation in activity expand ecological insights on context-dependent constraints that affect wildlife behavior.

Do wolves control their own numbers? Understanding and updating the long debate

The population dynamics of animals involve a complex interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic regulation, characterized as population self‐regulation, encompasses mechanisms that moderate growth rates before reaching maximum food‐dependent densities. Conversely, extrinsically regulated populations are constrained by environmental variables such as food availability, predation, and disease. What regulates wolf populations has been debated for decades, with most publications concluding that wolves are extrinsically regulated, despite evidence of intrinsic mechanisms. This paper summarizes one perspective from a debate at the 'Wolves Across Borders' conference in Stockholm, Sweden in May 2023. Since this paper is a summary of a public debate, the paper is neither a review nor research paper, rather a research history and a recommendation on how the long‐term disagreement might be resolved. Wolf population regulation is likely an interplay between both intrinsic and extrinsic factors which is best studied longitudinally by monitoring one population through time.

The Impact of Trade Openness, Tariff, and Globalization on Food Security in the ASEAN Region

In 2023, many crises hit the world due to heated geopolitical conditions resulting from the war in Russia and Ukraine; the world situation was fragmented because of competition between the USA and PRC blocs, economic recovery due to COVID-19 was shaken again, and food inflation was soaring high. The leading cause of food insecurity in ASEAN, which consists of most developing countries, is the lack of distribution access due to the affordability of logistics and food supplies. Most investors shift their investment preferences from the primary sector to manufacturing due to the volatility and high risk of assets. In 2020, in Asia, there were 78.7 million toddlers who were stunted, with the second majority in Southeast Asia (27.40%). Although most of the ASEAN member countries are connected geographically, the market share of ASEAN member countries in world trade is only 8.8%, so intra-trade relations are considered not optimal enough. This study aims to analyze the effect of three different trade openness indicators (trade openness, tariffs, and globalization) on the food security of Southeast Asian people in 2000–2021. The method used in this research is panel data, which combines pool least squares (PLS) and fixed effect models (FEM) by developing Beck and Katz’s two panels corrected standard errors (PCSE): cross-section weights and SUR. Trade openness significantly affects the two pillars of food security: stability and utilization, with U-shaped results. Ad-valorem tariffs are significant and positive for the two pillars of food security: availability and utilization. Increasing taxes in Southeast Asia can improve the average dietary energy supply’s adequacy; however, this can also increase the prevalence of stunting in children under five. It happens because the availability of abundant food in terms of quantity differs from the quality and safety of its consumption. The increase in globalization from an economic, political, and social perspective in Southeast Asia is significant for the four pillars of food security; if globalization is increased, then this can positively impact reducing cases of stunting and malnutrition; on the other hand, increasing globalization has harmed food availability and stability. Increasing one policy has a different impact. In the first stage, policy improvements can positively impact a pillar of food security. However, after reaching a turning point, there is a possibility that the increased policy will harm the other pillars. Therefore, it is necessary to choose an integrative policy trade-off and be able to solve problems better. This study suggests several main policy implications, namely building a more assertive trade policy based on the WTO and food safety technical rules that comply with WHO rules, increasing intra-trade within the ASEAN group, maintaining food price stability, encouraging investment in agriculture, promoting governance reforms, and strengthening the regional food security system in terms of production, consumption, and distribution. Support policies are also needed regarding solid prevention efforts against stunting and malnutrition and digitalization (Agritech 4.0), which supports food availability. In addition, this research also suggests that ASEAN can continue to increase domestic food production for resilience to the global crisis. Keywords: trade openness, tariff, globalization, food security, ASEAN, dynamic panel

Food availability, perceived food environment and social norm perceptions of healthy and vegetarian food consumption at a public music festival in the Netherlands: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveTo gain insight into the food availability, the perceived food environment, and social norm perceptions in favour of healthy and vegetarian food consumption at a festival.DesignTwo cross-sectional substudies were conducted...

Removal of Exogenous Stimuli Reveals a Canalization of Circadian Physiology in a Vertically Migrating Copepod.

Diel rhythms are observed across taxa and are important for maintaining synchrony between the environment and organismal physiology. A striking example of this is the diel vertical migration undertaken by zooplankton, some of which, such as the 5 mm-long copepod Pleuromamma xiphias (P. xiphias), migrate hundreds of meters daily between the surface ocean and deeper waters. Some of the molecular pathways that underlie the expressed phenotype at different stages of this migration are entrained by environmental variables (e.g., day length and food availability), while others are regulated by internal clocks. We identified a series of proteomic biomarkers that vary across ocean DVM and applied them to copepods incubated in 24 h of darkness to assess circadian control. The dark-incubated copepods shared some proteomic similarities to the ocean-caught copepods (i.e., increased abundance of carbohydrate metabolism proteins at night). Shipboard-incubated copepods demonstrated a clearer distinction between night and day proteomic profiles, and more proteins were differentially abundant than in the in situ copepods, even in the absence of the photoperiod and other environmental cues. This pattern suggests that there is a canalization of rhythmic diel physiology in P. xiphias that reflects likely circadian clock control over diverse molecular pathways.

An emerging food policy domain: The effects of autonomous transport technologies on food access and consumption

Innovations in food home delivery systems have seen rapid growth in the consumption of food prepared outside the home. Such food is often higher in negative nutrients than home-prepared food. Technological advancements in the transport sector are set to amplify the availability of food delivery services via the introduction of autonomous (driverless) vehicles. Very little is known about how consumers are likely to react to this change, and relevant regulatory frameworks are lacking. To address this evidence gap and inform policy in this emerging domain, the aim of the present study was to provide preliminary insights into how and why consumers may choose to use autonomous food delivery services once they are widely available and the potential impacts on their diets. A sample of 100 adults currently residing in Australia participated in one-to-one interviews. Quotas were applied for the attributes of age, sex, and geographical location to ensure appropriate demographic distribution. Around two-thirds of interviewees reported intending to use autonomous food delivery services for receiving groceries and around one-half for receiving fast food. Perceptions of increased convenience dominated interviewees’ expressed reasons for intending to use autonomous delivery services. Overall, interviewees saw few impediments to the widescale use of autonomous delivery services, and some expected to consume more unhealthy food due to increased access. While autonomous delivery services have the potential to substantially increase access to both healthy and unhealthy food products, effective policy actions are needed to ensure health outcomes are optimized.

Assessment of Indigenous Hill People of Meghalaya, India regarding Household Food Access

Background: While the broad issue of food security has generally received attention of the researchers, the particularities in hills and mountains has remained neglected. Thus, to provide some insights on food insecurity regarding mountain specificities, the current study aims to evaluate household food access of indigenous hill people in Meghalaya, India. Methods: Food access is a measure of household’s ability to acquire available food over a given period.  In the current study, a sample of 900 people from indigenous population were randomly selected from rural Khasi, Garo and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya. Household food access was explored with the following indicators: household wealth and income; household dietary diversity score (HDDS), and food consumption score (FCS). Data collection was done during December, 2019 to September, 2020. Results: The sample households are characterised by the predominance of marginal farmers (93% to 97%). Most of them were in the category of borderline food security with the FCS of between 21.5 to 35.0. Starchy staples were considered the main component of their diet. Their dietary diversity was significantly correlated with income (correlation coefficient=0.22) and wealth (correlation coefficient=0.38) at 0.01 level of significance. Conclusion: As dietary diversity at household is related to income and wealth, scarcity of income and wealth regarding indigenous hill population was an obvious reason for poor dietary diversity and the resultant poor dietary quality at the household level. To increase local food production and improve dietary diversity of indigenous hill people, revitalizing and strengthening local food systems is of great significance.

The Status of Young Children's Nutrition Security in Rural Area of Northwest Ethiopia

The Status of Young Children's Nutrition Security in Rural Area of Northwest Ethiopia

Development of Malaysian-MIND diet scores for prediction of mild cognitive impairment among older adults in Malaysia.

Mild Cognitive impairment (MCI) is a pre-demented state in the elderly populace. The Mediterranean & Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet has shown promise in reducing the risk of MCI and Alzheimer's disease in older people. Notably, the existing MIND diet is not adapted to the specific needs of older adults in Malaysia, considering distinct food cultures and availability. Consequently, this study aimed to develop the Malaysian version of the MIND diet (MY-MINDD) scores and investigate their association with MCI in the older adult populace of Malaysia. A comprehensive pooled data analysis was conducted on combined data from 810 participants sourced from the longitudinal Long-Term Research Grant Scheme-Towards Useful Aging (LRGS-TUA) and Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) studies. The MY-MINDD scores were developed by incorporating existing MIND diet food groups, their corresponding scoring mechanisms, and consideration of common Malaysian foods which are proven to be beneficial and detrimental to cognitive function. To substantiate the MY-MINDD scoring system, its association with MCI was evaluated using a series of validated neuropsychological test batteries. MY-MINDD consists of seven food groups promote brain health and four food groups exert negative cognitive outcomes. The study participants had an average age of 67.9 ± 4.7 years. The collective MY-MINDD score for all participants was 6.4 ± 0.1 (out of a maximum 11 points), revealing a lower score in individuals with MCI at 6.0 ± 1.7 compared to those without MCI at 6.6 ± 1.6 (p < 0.001). According to hierarchical multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, being in the highest tertile of MY-MINDD score was linked to reduced odds of MCI (odds ratio (OR) = 0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.26-0.72, p < 0.001) in the fully adjusted model in comparison to the lowest tertile. The development of the MY-MINDD scores for Malaysian older population revealed that a stronger adherence to this diet is linked to a reduced risk of MCI. Further substantiation of the MY-MINDD scores using more objective measures, such as neuroimaging approaches and other neuropsychological batteries, is necessary.

Effects of fasting and environmental factors on appetite regulators in pond loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus.

The pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is an important aquaculture freshwater species, used as an ornamental fish, food source for humans and angling bait. Pond loaches are resistant to fasting and extreme environmental conditions, including temperature and low oxygen levels. Little is known about how these factors affect the feeding physiology and the endocrine regulation of feeding of loaches. In this study, we examined the effects of fasting, as well as increased temperature and decreased oxygen levels on food intake and transcript levels of appetite regulators. Fasted fish had lower blood glucose levels, and lower expression levels of intestine CCK and PYY, and brain CART1, but had higher levels of brain orexin and ghrelin than fed fish. Fish held at 30 °C had higher food intake, glucose levels, and mRNA levels of intestine CCK and PYY, and brain CART2, but lower brain orexin levels than fish at 20 °C. Fish held at low oxygen levels had a lower food intake, higher intestine CCKa and ghrelin, and brain orexin, CART2 and ghrelin mRNA expression levels than fish held at high O2 levels. Our results suggest that fasting and high temperatures increase the expression of orexigenic and anorexigenic factors respectively, whereas the increase in expression of both orexigenic and anorexigenic factors in low O2 environments might not be related to their role in feeding, but possibly to protection from tissue damage. The results of our study might shed new light on how pond loaches are able to cope with extreme environmental conditions such as low food availability, extreme temperatures and hypoxia.

How does eligibility for GusNIP produce prescriptions relate to fruit and vegetable purchases and what factors shape the relationship? A protocol for a secondary analysis of nationally representative data in the USA

IntroductionUS Department of Agriculture (USDA) Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Programme (GusNIP) produce prescription programme (PPR) ‘prescriptions’ provide eligible participants with low income, risk for diet-related chronic disease and food insecurity...

Fish markets facilitate nutrition security in coastal Kenya: Empirical evidence for policy leveraging

Fish markets are key to supporting the availability and accessibility of nutritious food but are often overlooked in food and nutrition research and policy. This study investigated fish markets in coastal Kenya, using data from 223 semi-structured interviews collected through market surveys, and analyzed their potential to meet recommendations for consumption and alleviate malnutrition in a vulnerable coastal population (children under five years). Findings reveal that women small-scale traders dealt in lower quantities of fish per trader than the other traders, yet sold more nutritious fish. Fish shop traders sold enough fish to meet 129% of the recommended intake of fish (10.4 kg cap−1 yr−1) for all people within the assessed towns, whereas women small-scale traders sold enough to meet 84% of the intake. All market traders were key to making nutrient-dense fish available, with a 100 g portion of fish providing at least 25% of required intakes, across five nutrients, and women small-scale traders providing over 25% of required intakes across six nutrients for a child under five years. The average cost of a nutritious portion of fish was KES 31 (USD 0.22), ranging from KES 12 (USD 0.08) to 49 (USD (0.34), which provide 33.3% of the required nutrients (averaged across six nutrients), with nutrient-dense fish being notably cheaper. This study contributes empirical evidence on how territorial fish markets support nutrition, which is important for food policy interventions that promote nutritional literacy, address nutrient gaps, and improve postharvest practices and infrastructure for fish quality and safety in Kenya.

Optimizing food pantry stocking through client preferences: a novel elicitation and classification process

Purpose This study aims to understand client food preferences and how pantry offerings can be optimized by those preferences. Design/methodology/approach This study develops and administers customized surveys to study three food pantries within the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwestern North Carolina network. This study then categorizes food items by client preferences, identifies the key predictors of those preferences and obtains preference scores by fitting the data to a predictive model. The preference scores are subsequently used in an optimization model that suggests an ideal mix of food items to stock based upon client preferences and the item and weight limits imposed by the pantry. Findings This study found that food pantry clients prefer fresh and frozen foods over shelf-friendly options and that gender, age and religion were the primary predictors. The optimization model incorporates these preferences, yielding an optimal stocking strategy for the pantry. Research limitations/implications This research is based on a specific food bank network, and therefore, the client preferences may not be generalizable to other food banks. However, the framework and corresponding optimization model is generalizable to other food aid supply chains. Practical implications This study provides insights for food pantry managers to make informed decisions about stocking the pantry shelves based on the client’s preferences. Social implications An emerging topic within the humanitarian food aid community is better matching of food availability with food that is desired in a way that minimizes food waste. This is achieved by providing more choice to food pantry users. This work shows how pantries can incorporate client preferences in inventory stocking decisions. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on food pantry operations by providing a novel decision support system for pantry managers to aid in stocking their shelves according to client preferences.

Snow avalanches are a primary climate-linked driver of mountain ungulate populations

Snow is a major, climate-sensitive feature of the Earth’s surface and catalyst of fundamentally important ecosystem processes. Understanding how snow influences sentinel species in rapidly changing mountain ecosystems is particularly critical. Whereas effects of snow on food availability, energy expenditure, and predation are well documented, we report how avalanches exert major impacts on an ecologically significant mountain ungulate - the coastal Alaskan mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). Using long-term GPS data and field observations across four populations (421 individuals over 17 years), we show that avalanches caused 23−65% of all mortality, depending on area. Deaths varied seasonally and were directly linked to spatial movement patterns and avalanche terrain use. Population-level avalanche mortality, 61% of which comprised reproductively important prime-aged individuals, averaged 8% annually and exceeded 22% when avalanche conditions were severe. Our findings reveal a widespread but previously undescribed pathway by which snow can elicit major population-level impacts and shape demographic characteristics of slow-growing populations of mountain-adapted animals.

Socio‑Economic Drivers of Food Security Among Rural Households: Evidence From Smallholder Rice Farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Nigeria has been facing a food crisis problem, with most of the poor population having limited access to adequate quantity and quality food. Food security reflects the stability of food supply, availability of, and access to food, and affects the amount of food consumed with implications on the population’s health. Thus, this study examined the socio-economic drivers of food security among smallholder rice farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Primary data was collected under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish (Integrated rice-fish farming system) funded by USAID through a three-stage sampling technique. Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) and the Endogenous Switching Regression model were applied in the data analysis. The mean per capita household food expenditure is estimated at N 1,026.43; the food security measure shows that 46.67% of the households experience the incidence of food insecurity, 24.6% point is the food insecurity depth, and 17.2 % point is the severity of food insecurity. The ESR model shows that the drivers of food security are access to credit, marital status, farming experience, primary occupation, education, and farm size. The study proposed implementing more programmes that focus on poverty alleviation, which should be gender inclusive with credit support.