Adherence
In urban food deserts, increasing geographic proximity to full-service supermarkets does not significantly improve dietary quality or reduce BMI because residents already travel outside their neighborhoods to access healthy food.
If you live in a food desert, building a supermarket nearby is unlikely to change your diet or weight because you are already traveling to supermarkets. Focus on interventions that support the existing behavior of traveling to healthy stores (e.g., transportation subsidies, loyalty programs) rather than just building new stores.
physical distance from full-service supermarkets was unrelated to weight or dietary quality.
Why this rating
Large sample size (n=1372), objective measures (24h recalls, measured BMI), and rigorous audit of food environments.
Source
Healthy food access for urban food desert residents: examination of the food environment, food purchasing practices, diet and BMI
Tamara Dubowitz et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2014
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