Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Food deserts are low income neighborhoods where nutritious foods are unavailable. These communities have disproportionately higher rates of obesity and other chronic diseases associated with an unhealthy diet. This study sets out to describe the shopping behavior and the food-related lifestyle of food desert residents and their impact on the food related behavior of these residents. Results from two studies we conducted indicate that the lack of access to healthy foods in food desert communities play only a limited role in determining the eating habits of residents. In the first study, data were collected from a random sample of 325 residents via a telephone survey. In the second study, data were collected from 120 residents `using a telephone survey of a purposeful sample and a face-to-face interview of a convenience sample. The data from the first study indicate that residents do most of their shopping where they have access to healthy foods and not at the convenience stores in their communities that offer mostly unhealthy foods. Data from our second study suggest that residents’ food-related lifestyle influence their food-related behavior, which explains why residents of food desert communities still make unhealthy food choices even though they have access to healthy ones. This work suggests that applying a systems approach that combines data about the food environment, the psychometric character of residents, and a “design thinking” approach increases the likelihood of improving dietary behaviors. This combination may prove useful for addressing eating habits and related dietary diseases in a global context.