TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterizing food environments near schools in California
T2 - A latent class approach simultaneously using multiple food outlet types and two spatial scales
AU - Sánchez, Brisa N.
AU - Fu, Han
AU - Matsuzaki, Mika
AU - Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Emma
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grant numbers R01HL136718 and R01HL131610. The funder did not have a role in the conduct of the study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - It is challenging to evaluate associations between the food environment near schools with either prevalence of childhood obesity or with socioeconomic characteristics of schools. This is because the food environment has many dimensions, including its spatial distribution. We used latent class analysis to classify public schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas in California into food environment classes based on the availability and spatial distribution of multiple types of unhealthy food outlets nearby. All urban schools had at least one unhealthy food outlet nearby, compared to seventy-two percent of schools in rural areas did. Food environment classes varied in the quantity of available food outlets, the relative mix of food outlet types, and the outlets’ spatial distribution near schools. Regardless of urbanicity, schools in low-income neighborhoods had greater exposure to unhealthy food outlets. The direction of associations between food environment classes and school size, type, and race/ethnic composition depends on the level of urbanicity of the school locations. Urban schools attended primarily by African American and Asian children are more likely to have greater exposures to unhealthy food outlets. In urban and rural but not suburban areas, schools attended primarily by Latino students had more outlets offering unhealthy foods or beverages nearby. In suburban areas, differences in the spatial distribution of food outlets indicates that food outlets are more likely to cluster near K-12 schools and high schools compared to elementary schools. Intervention design and future research need to consider that the associations between food environment exposures and school characteristics differ by urbanicity.
AB - It is challenging to evaluate associations between the food environment near schools with either prevalence of childhood obesity or with socioeconomic characteristics of schools. This is because the food environment has many dimensions, including its spatial distribution. We used latent class analysis to classify public schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas in California into food environment classes based on the availability and spatial distribution of multiple types of unhealthy food outlets nearby. All urban schools had at least one unhealthy food outlet nearby, compared to seventy-two percent of schools in rural areas did. Food environment classes varied in the quantity of available food outlets, the relative mix of food outlet types, and the outlets’ spatial distribution near schools. Regardless of urbanicity, schools in low-income neighborhoods had greater exposure to unhealthy food outlets. The direction of associations between food environment classes and school size, type, and race/ethnic composition depends on the level of urbanicity of the school locations. Urban schools attended primarily by African American and Asian children are more likely to have greater exposures to unhealthy food outlets. In urban and rural but not suburban areas, schools attended primarily by Latino students had more outlets offering unhealthy foods or beverages nearby. In suburban areas, differences in the spatial distribution of food outlets indicates that food outlets are more likely to cluster near K-12 schools and high schools compared to elementary schools. Intervention design and future research need to consider that the associations between food environment exposures and school characteristics differ by urbanicity.
KW - Disparities
KW - Food environment near schools
KW - Unhealthy food outlets
KW - Urbanicity differences
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101937
DO - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101937
M3 - Article
C2 - 35928596
AN - SCOPUS:85135145139
SN - 2211-3355
VL - 29
JO - Preventive Medicine Reports
JF - Preventive Medicine Reports
M1 - 101937
ER -