Efforts to promote healthy food choices often target neighborhoods with limited access to nutritious options. However, a recent study suggests a novel approach by examining where individuals eat beyond their residential areas.
While the adage “you are what you eat” holds true, researchers from USC, Northeastern University, and MIT propose that “you are where you eat” may be a more accurate reflection of dietary habits.
Why it’s significant: Poor dietary habits contribute to various health issues, and exposure to environments saturated with fast-food outlets can hinder individuals from making healthier choices.
The broader context: Millions of Americans face challenges accessing healthy food, leading to food insecurity and inadequate nutrition.
Historically, efforts to address food insecurity focused on identifying “food deserts” and “food swamps,” areas lacking healthy and affordable options or inundated with fast-food establishments. Despite initiatives like the USDA’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which aimed to support healthy food retail in underserved areas, improvements in dietary habits have been limited. Policies such as restricting new fast-food restaurants in low-income neighborhoods also failed to yield significant changes in eating behaviors.
In the researcher’s view: Kayla de la Haye, founding director of the Institute for Food System Equity, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding of how food environments influence diets beyond residential areas.
A recent study published in Nature Communications proposes a different approach by analyzing where individuals dine beyond their local neighborhoods.
Traditionally, research focused on food availability in residential areas, leading policies to target neighborhood food environments. The study uses anonymous smartphone data to track individuals’ visits to food outlets across 11 American cities over six months in 2016 and 2017.
Key findings: Most fast-food visits occur far from home, highlighting the need for interventions that consider individuals’ mobility patterns.
On average, individuals travel 4.3 miles for fast food compared to 2 miles for groceries. There’s no evidence suggesting that any socioeconomic group visits fast-food outlets more frequently than others. Greater exposure to fast-food outlets during daily activities correlates with more frequent visits. People are 20% more likely to choose fast food in areas with a higher density of fast-food outlets.
Further insights: Locations like shopping malls, business parks, and airports significantly influence food choices, with fast-food options often dominating.
Despite the prevalence of fast food in these areas, individuals tend to opt for healthier alternatives when available.
Recommendations: Policymakers should utilize mobility data to identify key locations for interventions that can effectively influence food choices.
Strategically implementing interventions in places frequented by individuals could significantly impact dietary behaviors compared to traditional approaches focusing solely on residential areas.