Skip to main content

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Food Policy and Economics
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1413208
This article is part of the Research Topic The Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Food Supply, Dietary Patterns, Nutrition, and Health: Volume 3 View all 5 articles

The Effect of Proximity to Grocery Stores and the Pandemic on Parents' and Youths' Perceptions of Eating Habits in Predominately African American Rural Communities

Provisionally accepted
Amanda Williams Amanda Williams Sharlene D. Newman Sharlene D. Newman *
  • Alabama Life Research Institute, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, IN, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Rural communities have a disproportionately high level of childhood obesity along with high rates of food insecurity.To assess the eating habits of youth in predominantly African American rural communities and assess the association between proximity to a grocery store and eating habits as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted eating habits.Methods: 203 youth and parents completed a 16-item survey. Analyses were performed to assess the effect of having a neighborhood grocery store as well as to compare responses between youth and parents.Results: Having a neighborhood grocery store was associated with increased consumption of vegetables (F(1,122)=41.56) and fruits (F(1,121)=65.05), decreased consumption of chips (F(1,125)=79.51) and a smaller percentage of overweight youth (χ 2 (1,125)=5.03). Parents underestimated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth eating habits (χ 2 (1,198)=17.88).Conclusions: Proximity to a grocery store significantly associated with eating habits and weight in the rural communities examined. Given the steady decrease in the number rural grocery stores over the past decade it is important to consider how to improve access to healthy foods in these communities.

    Keywords: Eating Habits, Grocery stores, rural, COVID-19, African American

    Received: 11 Apr 2024; Accepted: 22 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Williams and Newman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sharlene D. Newman, Alabama Life Research Institute, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 47405, IN, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.