Obesity is an increasingly prevalent problem and many chronic diseases are
associated with excess body fat. Understanding factors which contribute to excess body
fat is a primary step in curtailing the obesity epidemic. An individual’s environment can
play a role in food choice as food selection may be limited to those foods available in the
environment. Rural environments may have less availability of healthy foods due to
unique characteristics of these areas. Fast food establishments usually offer convenient
meals but healthy choices at these restaurants may be limited. The number of healthy
options may vary among types of fast food outlets.
The study area for this project included six rural counties. Fast food outlets
within the counties were identified from the Brazos Valley Food Environment Study.
Store types included fast food, grocery, and convenience stores. Store menus were
analyzed with a survey instrument for healthy options which would allow consumers to
meet dietary guideline recommendations.
A total of 222 fast food outlets were identified within the study area; 98 were
primarily fast food stores, 112 were convenience stores with fast food, and 12 were
grocery stores with fast food. Healthy options for breakfast meals were available in 22.4% of fast food stores, 8.9% of convenience stores, and 50% of grocery stores.
Healthy options for lunch entrees were available at 67.3% of fast food stores, 35.7% of
convenience stores, and 75% of grocery stores. For lunch/dinner options, national chain
fast food stores were more likely than other fast food stores to offer healthy options
(78.9% v. 42.4%, p<0.001). National chain fast food stores were also more likely than
other fast food stores to offer healthy breakfast options (26% v. 13.9%, p=0.032).
Analyzing healthy options from fast food stores only may exclude the outlets that
are the predominant sources of fast food in these areas. Although the national chains
offer some healthy options, the majority of fast food outlets in rural areas may be
regional and local chains that offer few healthy options. These findings may indicate a
limitation in the ability of rural populations to consume healthy foods.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1169 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Creel, Jennifer Sue |
| Contributors | Sharkey, Joseph |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds