Relationship of Food Availability and Accessibility to Women's Body Weights in Rural Upstate New York

Abstract

Food stores within a large area of rural upstate New York (N = 870) were surveyed using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey for Stores. Food environments within 5 miles of the women's homes were characterized by (1) the proximity and (2) density of each store type and (3) the average Healthy Food Availability Index (HFAI) score. Logistic regression analyses predicted the risk of being overweight, obese, and overweight or obese (combined) by food environment characteristics. Greater access to food stores and greater availability of healthy food were associated with increased risk of overweight and obesity.

Keywords:

• rural food environment
• obesity
• women

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, grant number 2005-35215-15427, and by the National Institute of Health, grant number 5 T32 DK-007 158 32.