Objective
Prior studies have shown an association between fast-food restaurants and adolescent
body size. Less is known about the influence of neighborhood food stores on a child's
body size. We hypothesized that in the inner-city, minority community of East Harlem,
New York, the presence of convenience stores and fast-food restaurants near a child's
home is associated with increased risk for childhood obesity as measured by body mass
index (BMI).
Design
Baseline data of 6- to 8-year-old East Harlem boys and girls (N=323) were used. Anthropometry (height and weight) was conducted with a standardized
protocol. Food-store data were collected via a walking survey. Stores located within
the same census block as the child's home address were identified by using ArcGIS
8.3. We computed age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles by using national norms of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using odds ratios, we estimated risk
of a child's BMI percentile being in the top tertile based on number and types of
food stores on their census blocks.
Results
Convenience stores were present in 55% of the surveyed blocks in which a study particpant
lived and fast-food restaurants were present in 41%. Children (n=177) living on a block with 1 or more convenience stores (range, 1–6) were more likely
to have a BMI percentile in the top tertile (odds ratio 1.90, 95% confidence interval,
1.15–3.15) compared with children having no convenience stores (n=146).
Conclusions
The presence of convenience stores near a child's residence was associated with a
higher BMI percentile. This has potential implications for both child- and neighborhood-level
childhood obesity interventions.
Key Words
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 29, 2009
Accepted:
May 12,
2009
Received:
December 29,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
