26 Feb Children’s Diet Not Affected By Healthy Supermarket in Previous ‘Food Desert’

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Brian Elbel, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Population Health;
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Population Health NYU School of Medicine

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Elbel: This study tried to determine whether a new supermarket that received tax and zoning credits from New York City, locating in a high need area, impacted healthy eating for children.  No previous controlled study has looked at children, and supermarkets are tool being increasingly used to improve healthy eating.  We did not find, at least one year after the store opened, any appreciable change in shopping or eating.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Elbel: The exact role of new supermarkets alone in altering healthy eating is not clear, and additional policies or interventions will likely be needed to truly impact obesity rates.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Elbel: This is a very new field, and there have only been minimal studies looking at the impact of new supermarkets in “food deserts”.  Much more work is needed before to determine whether and how new supermarkets can be best utilized to alter childhood obesity.

Citation:
Elbel B, Moran A, Dixon LB, Kiszko K, Cantor J, Abrams C, Mijanovich T. Assessment of a Government-Subsidized Supermarket in a High-Need Area on Household Food Availability and Children’s Dietary Intakes. Public Health Nutrition. In press

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian Elbel, PhD, MPH (2015). Children’s Diet Not Affected By Healthy Supermarket in Previous ‘Food Desert’ 

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Last Updated on February 26, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD