Food Costs Are Higher in Counties With Poor Health Rankings

Impact of community-driven interventions on dietary and physical activity outcomes among a cohort of adults in a rural Appalachian county in Eastern Kentucky, 2019-2022

Several environmental level factors exacerbate poor health outcomes in rural populations in the United States, such as lack of access to healthy food and locations to be physically active, which support healthy choices at the individual level. Thus, utilizing innovative place-based approaches in rural locations is essential to improve health outcomes. Leveraging community assets, like Cooperative Extension, is a novel strategy for implementing community-driven interventions. This prospective cohort study (n = 152), recruited in 2019 and surveyed again in 2020 and 2021, examined individual level changes in diet and physical activity in one rural Appalachian county. During this time, multiple community-driven interventions were implemented alongside Cooperative Extension and several community partners. Across the three-year study, the cohort indicated increases in other vegetables and water and reductions in fruits and legumes. There were also reductions in less healthy items such as French fries and sugar-sweetened beverages. The cohort also reported being less likely to engage in physical activity. Our findings suggest that key community-driven programs may have indirect effects on dietary and physical activity choices over time. Outcomes from this study are relevant for public health practitioners and community organizations working within rural Appalachian communities to address health-related behaviors.

Assessing the Cost of Healthy and Unhealthy Diets: A Systematic Review of Methods

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Poor diets are a leading risk factor for chronic disease globally. Research suggests healthy foods are often harder to access, more expensive, and of a lower quality in rural/remote or low-income/high minority areas. Food pricing studies are frequently undertaken to explore food affordability. We aimed to capture and summarise food environment costing methodologies used in both urban and rural settings.

RECENT FINDINGS

Our systematic review of high-income countries between 2006 and 2021 found 100 relevant food pricing studies. Most were conducted in the USA (n = 47) and Australia (n = 24), predominantly in urban areas (n = 74) and cross-sectional in design (n = 76). All described a data collection methodology, with just over half (n = 57) using a named instrument. The main purpose for studies was to monitor food pricing, predominantly using the 'food basket', followed by the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S). Comparatively, the Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Price (ASAP) instrument supplied data on relative affordability to household incomes. Future research would benefit from a universal instrument reflecting geographic and socio-cultural context and collecting longitudinal data to inform and evaluate initiatives targeting food affordability, availability, and accessibility.

Successful weight loss after bariatric surgery in Appalachian state regardless of food access ranking score

BACKGROUND

Following bariatric surgery, an explicit dietary regimen is required to facilitate and maintain successful weight loss. Without adequate access to healthy foods, weight maintenance can be hindered.

OBJECTIVE

Examine influence degree of food access has on Appalachian bariatric surgery patient weight loss outcomes.

SETTING

Appalachian University hospital, United States.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was used to examine the influence of food accessibility on weight loss outcomes in an Appalachian bariatric surgery patient population at a large tertiary hospital in West Virginia between 2013 and 2017. Demographic characteristics, health and family history, and 1-year surgery outcomes were collected. A state-specific food accessibility score was calculated for each patient address using the geographic information system. Patients were assigned a food access ranking score (FARS) between 0 (low food access) and 4 (high food access) based on criteria of quantity, quality, income, and vehicle access.

RESULTS

Patients (n = 369) were predominately married (60.5%), white (92.4%), female (77.8%), and underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (75.9%), with a mean age of 45 years. Most patients had low FARS (M = 1.67 ± .73; 72.6%). Nonwhite patients (P = .03) with a preoperative diagnosis of depression (P = .02) or without a family history of obesity (P = .01) were found to be in the lower FARS categories. FARS was not indicative of weight loss post surgery (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Food accessibility in West Virginia was not associated with bariatric surgery weight outcomes at 1-year post operation. Lower food access was associated with nonwhite race/ethnicity, diagnosed depression at baseline, and no family history of obesity. Future studies should include more extended follow-up data collection and mixed-method approaches to capture perceptions of food access and its impact on the patients' postoperative journey.