This review describes available measures of retail food store environments, including data collection methods, characteristics of measures, the dimensions most commonly captured across methods, and their strengths and limitations. Articles were included if they were published between 1990 and 2015 in an English-language peer-reviewed journal and presented original research findings on the development and/or use of a measure or method to assess retail food store environments. From 3,013 citations identified, 125 observational studies and 5 studies that used sales records were reviewed in-depth. Most studies were cross-sectional and based in the U.S. The most common types of stores studied were identified as supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and corner stores. The most common tools used were the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) and the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S). The most common attribute captured was availability of healthy options, followed by price. Measurement quality indicators were minimal and focused mainly on assessments of reliability. Additional work is needed to improve measures of the food environment and standardize measures used.
Published: April 2016
ID #: 1091
Journal: J Nutr Educ Behav
Authors: Glanz K, Johnson L, Yaroch AL, Phillips M, Ayala GX, Davis EL
Keywords: Corner store, Food outlet, Fruits and vegetables, Grocery store, Healthy food financing, Rural, Supermarket, Urban
Focus Areas: Food Access, Food Retail
Resource Type: Journal Article
State: National
Related Research
September 2024
Online retail nudges to help parents with lower-income choose healthy beverages for their children: A randomized clinical trial
Nudges offer a promising tool to reduce sugary drink intake among children who are most at risk for diet-related disease. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of online store nudges on purchases of sugary drinks for children in lower-income households. Caregivers with lower-income were recruited to an online shopping experiment and MoreJanuary 2024
Food Insecurity and the Child Tax Credit
Food insecurity puts people at risk for many poor physical and mental health outcomes. Food insecurity stayed stable during much of the COVID-19 pandemic but rose significantly from 2021-2022 among U.S. households with children. Many federal supports were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included expansions in food assistance programs like SNAP, as well as MoreNovember 2023