A recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined the relationship between the presence of neighborhood food stores within a girl's neighborhood and 3-year risk of overweight/obesity and change in BMI.
The results are interesting. Availability of convenience stores within a 0.25-mile network buffer of a girl's home was associated with greater risk of overweight/obesity (OR=3.38, 95% CI=1.07, 10.68) and an increase in BMI z-score (β=0.13, 95% CI=0.00, 0.25). However, the availability of produce markets within a 1.0-mile network buffer of a girl's residence was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (OR=0.22, 95% CI=0.05, 1.06).
The study neither assessed the food items in the stores nor individual food product consumption by study participants, as such, direct causality cannot be established.
