Access to food outlets and children's nutritional
intake in urban China: a difference-in-difference
analysis
In recent years supermarkets and fast food restaurants have been replacing those "wetmarkets"of independent vendors as the major food sources in urban China. Yet how thesefood outlets relate to children's nutritional intake remains largely unexplored.MethodUsing a longitudinal survey of households and communities in China, this study examines theeffect of the urban built food environment (density of wet markets, density of supermarkets,and density of fast food restaurants) on children's nutritional intake (daily caloric intake,daily carbohydrate intake, daily protein intake, and daily fat intake).
Children aged 6-18(n = 185) living in cities were followed from 2004 to 2006, and difference-in-differencemodels are used to address the potential issue of omitted variable bias.
Results:
Results suggest that the density of wet markets, rather than that of supermarkets, positivelypredicts children's four dimensions of nutritional intake. In the caloric intake model and thefat intake model, the positive effect of neighborhood wet market density on children'snutritional intake is stronger with children from households of lower income.
Conclusion:
With their cheaper prices and/or fresher food supply, wet markets are likely to contribute asubstantial amount of nutritional intake for children living nearby, especially those inhouseholds with lower socioeconomic status.
For health officials and urban planners, thisstudy signals a sign of warning as wet markets are disappearing from urban China's foodenvironment.
Author: Rui WangLu Shi Credits/Source: Italian Journal of Pediatrics 2012, 38:30
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