Association between time-weighted activity space-based exposures to fast food outlets and fast food consumption among young adults in urban Canada

Integrating the Physical Environment Within a Population Neuroscience Perspective

Population neuroscience recognises the role of the environment in shaping brain, behaviour, and mental health. An overview of current evidence from neuroscientific and epidemiological studies highlights the protective effects of nature on cognitive function and stress reduction, the detrimental effects of urban living on mental health, and emerging concerns relating to extreme weather events and eco-anxiety. Despite the growing body of evidence in this area, knowledge gaps remain due to inconsistent measures of exposure and a reliance on small samples. In this chapter, attention is given to the physical environment and population-level studies as a necessary starting point for exploring the long-term impacts of environmental exposures on mental health, and for informing future research that may capture immediate emotional and neural responses to the environment. Key data sources, including remote sensing imagery, administrative, sensor, and social media data, are outlined. Appropriate measures of exposure are advocated for, recognising the value of area-level measures for estimating exposure over large study samples and spatial and temporal scales. Although integrating data from multiple sources requires consideration for data quality and completeness, deep learning and the increasing availability of high-resolution data present opportunities to build a more complete picture of physical environments. Advances in leveraging detailed locational data are discussed as a subsequent approach for building upon initial observations from population studies and improving understanding of the mechanisms underlying behaviour and human-environment interactions.

GPS-derived environmental exposures during pregnancy and early postpartum - Evidence from the madres cohort

The built and natural environment factors (e.g., greenspace, walkability) are associated with maternal and infant health during and after pregnancy. Most pregnancy studies assess exposures to environmental factors via static methods (i.e., residential location at a single point in time, usually 3rd trimester). These do not capture dynamic exposures encountered in activity spaces (e.g., locations one visits and paths one travels) and their changes over time. In this study, we aimed to compare daily environmental exposure estimates using residential and global positioning systems (GPS)-measured activity space approaches and evaluated potential for exposure measurement error in the former. To do this, we collected four days of continuous geolocation monitoring during the 1st and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy and at 4-6 months postpartum in sixty-two pregnant Hispanic women enrolled in the MADRES cohort. We applied residential and GPS-based methods to assess daily exposures to greenspace, access to parks and transit, and walkability, respectively. We assessed potential for exposure measurement error in residential vs GPS-based estimates using Pearson correlations for each measure overall and by study period. We found residential and GPS-based estimates of daily exposure to total areas of parks and open spaces were weakly positively correlated (r = 0.31, P < .001) across pregnancy and postpartum periods. Residential estimates of %greenspace (r = 0.52, P < .001) and tree cover (r = 0.55, P < .001) along walkable roads were moderately correlated with GPS-based estimates. Residential and GPS-based estimates of public transit proximity, pedestrian-oriented intersection density, and walkability index score were all highly positively correlated (r > 0.70, P < .001). We also found associations between residential and GPS-based estimates decreased among participants with greater daily mobility. Our findings suggest the popular approach that assessing the built and natural environment exposures using residential methods at one time point may introduce exposure measurement error in pregnancy studies. GPS-based methods, to the extent feasible, are recommended for future studies.

Global positioning system-based food environment exposures, diet-related, and cardiometabolic health outcomes: a systematic review and research agenda

BACKGROUND

Geographic access to food may affect dietary choices and health outcomes, but the strength and direction of associations may depend on the operationalization of exposure measures. We aimed to systematically review the literature on up-to-date evidence on the association between food environment exposures based on Global Positioning System (GPS) and diet-related and cardiometabolic health outcomes.

METHODS

The databases PubMed, Embase.com, APA PsycInfo (via Ebsco), Cinahl (via Ebsco), the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (via ProQuest) were searched from inception to October 31, 2022. We included studies that measured the activity space through GPS tracking data to identify exposure to food outlets and assessed associations with either diet-related or cardiometabolic health outcomes. Quality assessment was evaluated using the criteria from a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for cross-sectional studies. We additionally used four items from a quality assessment tool to specifically assess the quality of GPS measurements.

RESULTS

Of 2949 studies retrieved, 14 studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria. They were heterogeneous and represent inconsistent evidence. Yet, three studies found associations between food outlets and food purchases, for example, more exposure to junk food outlets was associated with higher odds of junk food purchases. Two studies found associations between greater exposure to fast food outlets and higher fast food consumption and out of three studies that investigated food environment in relation to metabolic outcomes, two studies found that higher exposure to an unhealthy food environment was associated with higher odds of being overweight.

CONCLUSIONS

The current and limited evidence base does not provide strong evidence for consistent associations of GPS-based exposures of the food environment with diet-related and cardiometabolic health outcomes.

Socioeconomic distribution of food outlet availability through online food delivery services in seven European countries: A cross-sectional study

This area-level cross-sectional study examined online food outlet availability through the most popular online food delivery service platforms (OFDS) across seven European countries, and explored how this online food outlet availability was socioeconomically distributed. Data collection of online food outlet availability was automated in England, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. We used a geographic information system to join online food outlet availability to socio-demographic information. Median number of food outlets delivering through OFDS was highest in England and lowest in Italy, Portugal and Spain. We also found that high-income areas have the greatest online food outlet availability in most countries. In England, areas with a middle income had the least online food outlets available and no income data was available for Switzerland. Further work is needed to understand drivers of disparities in online food outlet availability, as well as possible implications for public health.

Measuring environmental exposures in people's activity space: The need to account for travel modes and exposure decay

BACKGROUND

Accurately quantifying people's out-of-home environmental exposure is important for identifying disease risk factors. Several activity space-based exposure assessments exist, possibly leading to different exposure estimates, and have neither considered individual travel modes nor exposure-related distance decay effects.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed (1) to develop an activity space-based exposure assessment approach that included travel modes and exposure-related distance decay effects and (2) to compare the size of such spaces and the exposure estimates derived from them across typically used activity space operationalizations.

METHODS

We used 7-day-long global positioning system (GPS)-enabled smartphone-based tracking data of 269 Dutch adults. People's GPS trajectory points were classified into passive and active travel modes. Exposure-related distance decay effects were modeled through linear, exponential, and Gaussian decay functions. We performed cross-comparisons on these three functional decay models and an unweighted model in conjunction with four activity space models (i.e., home-based buffers, minimum convex polygons, two standard deviational ellipses, and time-weighted GPS-based buffers). We applied non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests, pair-wise Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and Spearman correlations to assess mean differences in the extent of the activity spaces and correlations across exposures to particulate matter (PM2.5), noise, green space, and blue space.

RESULTS

Participants spent, on average, 42% of their daily life out-of-home. We observed that including travel modes into activity space delineation resulted in significantly more compact activity spaces. Exposure estimates for PM2.5 and blue space were significantly (p < 0.05) different between exposure estimates that did or did not account for travel modes, unlike noise and green space, for which differences did not reach significance. While the inclusion of distance decay effects significantly affected noise and green space exposure assessments, the decay functions applied appear not to have had any impact on the results. We found that residential exposure estimates appear appropriate for use as proxy values for the overall amount of PM2.5 exposure in people's daily lives, while GPS-based assessments are suitable for noise, green space, and blue space.

SIGNIFICANCE

For some exposures, the tested activity space definitions, although significantly correlated, exhibited differing exposure estimate results based on inclusion or exclusion of travel modes or distance decay effect. Results only supported using home-based buffer values as proxies for individuals' daily short-term PM2.5 exposure.

A detour for snacks and beverages? A cross-sectional assessment of selective daily mobility bias in food outlet exposure along the commuting route and dietary intakes

The evidence of selective daily mobility bias distorting exposure-health associations is limited. Using 7-day smartphone-based global positioning system (GPS) tracking data for 67 Dutch adults aged 25-45, we conducted paired Wilcoxon tests to compare the absolute and relative exposure to food outlets along actual and modelled commuting routes. We fitted Tobit regressions to examine their associations with three daily snack and soft drink intake outcomes. We found significant differences in absolute food outlet exposure between two types of routes. Adjusted regression analyses yielded unexpected associations between dietary intakes and food outlet exposures. Our results suggested no evidence of a selective daily mobility bias in the association between the food environment along commuting routes and adults' snacks and soft drink consumption in this sample.

Change in the food environment and measured adiposity in adulthood in the Christchurch Health and development birth cohort, Aotearoa, New Zealand: A birth cohort study

This study investigated associations between change in the food environment and change in measured body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS) birth cohort. Our findings suggest that cohort members who experienced the greatest proportional change towards better access to fast food outlets had the slightly larger increases in BMI and WC. Contrastingly, cohort members who experienced the greatest proportional change towards shorter distance and better access to supermarkets had slightly smaller increases in BMI and WC. Our findings may help explain the changes in BMI and WC at a population level.

Integrating coordination of food purchasing into activity space-based food environment research: Toward a household perspective

Despite the advances in person-based approaches to studying food environments, most studies using these approaches have relied on individual-centered activity space measures and largely ignored cohabiting household members who play crucial roles in shaping an individual's food access, food behaviors, and diet. This can be problematic for completely capturing food environments relevant to an individual and add uncertainties to explorations of how individuals' food environments relate to their food behaviors. This viewpoint discusses the need for, and implications of, considering household members when measuring food access and disentangling the behavioral pathways connecting the food environment to diet. Ultimately, a conceptual framework and potential questions are proposed to integrate household members into food environment research.

Prevalence of fast-food intake among a multi-ethnic population of middle-aged men and connection with sociodemographic factors and obesity

Adults are increasingly eating fast-food, which is connected to adverse health outcomes such as obesity and chronic diseases. This work was carried out to study the prevalence of fast-food intake among a multi-ethnic population of middle-aged men and its connection with sociodemographic factors and obesity. This cross-sectional study enrolled 1800 middle-aged men from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used to assess participants fast-food intake frequency. Fast-food was consumed weekly by 87.8% of participants and daily by 45.6% of participants. The nationality of participants was determined as a predictor of fast-food intake. The highest and lowest prevalence of weekly fast-food intake was reported among Turkish (99.6%) and Sudanese (48.3%) participants. The highest and lowest daily intake rates were reported among participants from the Philippines (85.9%) and Bangladesh (10.0%). Another factor predicting fast-food intake was obesity. Obese participants had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) of weekly (OR = 5.83, P <.001) and daily (OR = 1.93, P <.001) fast-food intake than non-overweight/nonobese participants. Fast-food intake was prevalent among middle-aged men who reside in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Results connect fast-food intake with nationality and obesity.

The environment a young person grows up in is associated with their mental health: A nationwide geospatial study using the integrated data infrastructure, New Zealand

BACKGROUND

Mental health conditions often arise during adolescence, are multifaceted in aetiology, and may be related to the type of environment in which young people reside. This study used nationwide population-level data to investigate whether the environment a young person grows up in is associated with their mental health.

METHOD

Data were extracted from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), a large nationwide research repository, for 917,211 young people (aged 10-24 years) including sociodemographic and mental health data (i.e. emotional, behavioural, substance problems, and self-harm). Environmental data were sourced from the nationwide area-based Healthy Location Index (HLI), which has comprehensive data on the location of several health-constraining (i.e. fast-food outlets) and health-promoting features (i.e. physical activity facilities). Environments were classified as: i) health-promoting, ii) health-constraining, or iii) neither. Associations between the HLI and mental health were investigated using multi-level mixed effects logistic regression modelling.

RESULTS

Overall, there was evidence of an association between the environment a young person resided in and their mental health. Young people residing in health-constraining environments had higher odds of any mental health condition (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.020 [1.001, 1.040]) and any emotional condition (AOR = 1.037 [1.012, 1.062]). Young people residing in health-promoting environments had lower odds of substance problems (AOR = 0.950 [0.905, 0.997]). There were no significant effects of the environment on behavioural conditions.

CONCLUSION

Our study utilises a large national sample of almost one million young people to confirm the importance of environmental determinants for mental health. It is possible that leverage points for improving the mental health of young people, and reducing the burden to the health system of mental health, can be sought in upstream environmental based interventions.

Recent developments in space food for exploration missions: A review

Food and nutrition have greatly influenced the effectiveness of space exploration missions. With the development of technology, attention is now being paid more and more to preparing food for the microgravity environment, taking into account factors like nutrient density, shelf life, optimized packaging, preservations, innovations, challenges, and applications. The spectrum of food products is designed to meet the balanced nutritional requirements, reduce hazards encountered by astronauts, and utilize space in explorers during space missions. For the long duration of space missions and, consequently, for human permanence in space, it is crucial to provide humans with an adequate supply of fresh food to meet their nutritional needs. By doing this, astronauts could reduce the health risks associated with psychological stress, microgravity, and radiation exposure from space. Maintaining astronauts' health, happiness, and vitality during long-duration human-crewed missions has recently emerged as an essential and critical research area. The food they eat appears to be an important factor. For short-term space missions, astronauts' food could be brought from earth. Still, for long-term space missions to the Moon, Mars, and other distant missions, which are the current research destinations, they must find a way to eat, such as by cultivating plants or finding other means of survival. Scientists and researchers are attempting to develop novel food production technologies or systems that require minimal inputs while maximizing safe, nutritionally balanced, and delicious food outputs for long-duration space missions that could benefit people on earth. This review summarizes various aspects of space food, including evolution, innovations, technological advancements to prolong shelf life, and astronauts' problems. It also involves current research, including space foods like 3D printing and space farming for a long-term space mission.

Survey-derived activity space-based exposures to fast food outlets and their cross-sectional associations with use of fast food outlets, diet quality and BMI

There is a need for conceptual and methodological innovation in food environment-health research. We compared different operationalizations of survey-derived activity space exposures to fast food outlets (FFOs) in associations with use of FFO, diet quality and body mass index (BMI). FFO exposure was determined for home, work and a maximum of sixteen other locations reported by 1728 Dutch adults. Considerable differences in count of FFO between locations were found. Adjusted linear regression analyses resulted in small, unexpected associations with use of FFO, diet quality and BMI, whereby the strength of associations differed between exposure measures. Using home and work areas may be a cost-efficient compromise to capture large parts of the exposure to FFOs.

Prevalence of Fast Food Intake among a Multi-Ethnic Population of Young Men and Its Connection with Sociodemographic Determinants and Obesity

Fast food is commonly consumed by young adults. Eating fast food is connected with the risk of obesity and other related diseases. The present study examines the prevalence of fast food intake in a diverse sample of young men. This cross-sectional study included 3600 young men (20-35 years) who resided in Riyadh, KSA. The frequency of fast food intake was assessed using a valid and reliable questionnaire. Weekly and daily intake of fast food were the two outcome variables adopted to assess the intake frequency. Weight and height were measured. Fast food was eaten by 88.8% and 50.1% of participants weekly and daily, respectively. Fast food intake was predicted by the nationality of participants. The highest prevalence of weekly fast food intake (99.7%) was observed among Saudi, Egyptian, and Indian participants, while the lowest rate was observed among Sudanese participants (48.6%). The highest and lowest rates of daily intake were seen among Filipino (83.4%) and Bangladeshi (6.3%) participants. Obesity was another predictor of fast food intake. Obese participants had a significantly higher odds ratio of weekly (OR = 2.89, p = 0.006) and daily (OR = 1.39, p = 0.021) fast food intake than non-overweight/non-obese participants. In conclusion, fast food is frequently consumed by young men in KSA. Our findings link the likelihood of fast food intake to sociodemographic determinants and obesity.

Investigating the association between the socioeconomic environment of the service area and fast food visitation: A context-based crystal growth approach

Fast food consumption is one of the major causes of rising obesity rates. Fast food consumers are mostly residents located in the service area-the fast food outlet's surrounding area. Conventional buffer approaches may exhibit bias in measuring service areas by ignoring the local community's detailed spatial configuration and transportation preferences. This study uses fast food outlets and their visits provided by a mobile phone-based dataset named SafeGraph and applies a novel context-based crystal growth algorithm (CG) to delineate improved service areas of fast food outlets in Chicago. We also explore how socioeconomic variables in service areas by CG and buffer-based approaches are related to visits to fast food outlets. Results show that compared to conventional buffers, CG produces improved service areas as it excludes inaccessible barriers and adjusts the accessible areas by transportation preferences. Further, the model using service areas of public transport users by CG yields the best performance. Additionally, the rate of single-mother households and the number of other fast food outlets nearby are positively related to fast food visits in all models. Findings acknowledge the advantages of CG and help make policy interventions to reduce fast food consumption.

Where do Dutch adults obtain their snack foods? Cross-sectional exploration of individuals' interactions with the food environment

We investigated frequency of consumption and location of obtaining snack foods and sociodemographic differences therein. Data: cross-sectional survey data (N = 1784 Dutch adults 18-65 years) on the frequency of consumption of 10 snack foods and where they obtained them. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed notable differences in the frequency of snack food consumption between younger and older adults and between those with low vs. high socioeconomic position (SEP). The location of obtaining snack foods also differed between sociodemographic groups with supermarkets forming an important point-of-purchase for snack foods, especially for those with low SEP and with children in their household.

Neighbourhood food typologies, fast food outlet visitation and snack food purchasing among adolescents in Melbourne, Australia

OBJECTIVE

Despite the increased attention on neighbourhood food environments and dietary behaviours, studies focusing on adolescents are limited. This study aims to characterise typologies of food environments surrounding adolescents and their associations with fast food outlet visitation and snack food purchasing to/from school.

DESIGN

The number of food outlets (supermarket; green grocers; butcher/seafood/deli; bakeries; convenience stores; fast food/takeaways; café and restaurants) within a 1 km buffer from home was determined using a Geographic Information System. Adolescents' self-reported frequency of fast food outlet visitation and snack food purchasing to/from school. Latent Profile Analysis was conducted to identify typologies of the food environment. Cross-sectional multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between food typologies, fast food outlet visitations and snack food purchasing to/from school.

SETTING

Melbourne, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Totally, 410 adolescents (mean age= 15·5 (sd = 1·5) years).

RESULTS

Four distinct typologies of food outlets were identified: (1) limited variety/low number; (2) some variety/low number; (3) high variety/medium number and (4) high variety/high number. Adolescents living in Typologies 1 and 2 had three times higher odds of visiting fast food outlets ≥1 per week (Typology 1: OR = 3·71, 95 % CI 1·23, 11·19; Typology 2: OR = 3·65, 95 % CI 1·21, 10·99) than those living in Typology 4. No evidence of association was found between typologies of the food environments and snack food purchasing behaviour to/from school among adolescents.

CONCLUSION

Local government could emphasise an overall balance of food outlets when designing neighbourhoods to reduce propensity for fast food outlet visitation among adolescents.

Gaps and priorities in assessment of food environments for children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries

School-aged children and adolescents have complex interactions with their food environments-the point of engagement of individuals with the food system-and are influenced by a diversity of individual, household and organizational factors. Although a wide range of methods have been proposed to define, monitor and evaluate food environments, few are tailored to school-aged children and adolescents. Here, we interrogate published literature on food metrics and methodologies for the characterization of food environments for school-aged children and adolescents living in low- and middle-income counties. We identify key priority actions and potential indicators for better monitoring and evaluation to galvanize policymaking to improve the healthiness of these interactions, which are so crucial to future adult well-being.

Food Environments and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Incidence

Research into the potential impact of the food environment on liver cancer incidence has been limited, though there is evidence showing that specific foods and nutrients may be potential risk or preventive factors. Data on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries. The county-level food environment was assessed using the Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), a continuous score that measures the number of healthy and less healthy food retailers within counties. Poisson regression with robust variance estimation was used to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between mRFEI scores and HCC risk, adjusting for individual- and county-level factors. The county-level food environment was not associated with HCC risk after adjustment for individual-level age at diagnosis, sex, race/ethnicity, year, and SEER registry and county-level measures for health conditions, lifestyle factors, and socioeconomic status (adjusted IRR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.01). The county-level food environment, measured using mRFEI scores, was not associated with HCC risk.

A practical approach to obesity prevention: Healthy home habits

ABSTRACT

Families have the potential to foster a healthy home environment aimed at reducing the risk of overweight and obesity. Establishing habits associated with reduced risk of obesity and overweight early in childhood can have lasting effects into adulthood. Nurse practitioners can encourage families to participate in healthy habits by addressing areas of growth for obesity prevention within the home. A review of the most recent literature, approximately over the past decade, was used to provide a consolidated source of reference for healthy home habits for the nurse practitioner. The search included terms such as "obesity," "overweight," "healthy habits," "physical activity," "obesogenic behaviors," "family meals," "screen time," "depression," "sugary beverages," and "portion sizes." The information was synthesized into three content areas: nutrition and consumption, patterns of activity, and stress within the home. Establishing healthy habits early in life can protect against the development of overweight and obesity. Nurse practitioners can serve a vital role in the prevention of pediatric, adolescent, and adult obesity. Equipped with the unique role of assisting those from a diverse patient base, nurse practitioners can inform patients how to improve healthy habits to decrease the likelihood of obesity or overweight. Encouraging behavior change related to the healthy habits associated with the prevention of overweight and obesity can have a long-term impact on the health of an entire family.

An activity space approach to understanding how food access is associated with dietary intake and BMI among urban, low-income African American women

Inconclusive evidence for how food environments affect health may result from an emphasis on residential neighborhood-based measures of exposure. We used an activity space approach to examine whether 1) measures of food access and 2) associations with diet and BMI differ between residential and activity space food environments among low-income African American women in Atlanta, Georgia (n = 199). Although residential and activity space environments differed across all dimensions of food access, being located farther away from 'unhealthy' outlets was associated with lower BMI in both environments. Future research should move beyond asking whether residential and activity space environments differ, toward examining if, how, and under what conditions these differences impact the estimation of health effects.