Community Food Resources and Chronic Disease: Objective Measures and the Perceptions of Older Adults in Rural Areas
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Objective: To examine the relationship among objective measures of the food environment, perceptions of community food resources, and chronic disease in rural older adults.Methods: We linked food and nutrition data from the 2006 Brazos Valley Health Survey (BVHS) for respondents aged 60 years or older (n = 663) who resided in one of the six rural counties with data from the 20052006 Brazos Valley Food Environment Project (BVFEP) that identified and geocoded all food stores in the same rural counties. BVHS respondents were geocoded to their address; network distance was calculated to nearest grocery store and nearest convenience store. Descriptive statistics were calculated and models were fit to examine objective and perceived measures of the food environment with chronic disease.Results: There were 23 grocery stores, 155 convenience stores, and 20 discount stores in the six rural counties. 28.8% of respondents were obese; 27% reported at least 3 chronic diseases. Access to healthful food was a problem (47%). The perceptions of community food resources were little variety of fruits and vegetables (32%), few grocery stores (44%), and high food prices (81%). Geospatial measures were visually depicted and compared with objective measures and calculated network distance to closest food store.Conclusions: Objective and perceived measures of food accessibility and availability provide critical information for nutrition interventions and nutrition programs that target older adults with chronic diseases in rural areas.
