Online retail nudges to help parents with lower-income choose healthy beverages for their children: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Nudges offer a promising tool to reduce sugary drink intake among children who are most at risk for diet-related disease.

Objective: To examine the impact of online store nudges on purchases of sugary drinks for children in lower-income households.

Methods: Caregivers with lower-income were recruited to an online shopping experiment and instructed to spend $10-$30 on three beverages for their child aged 1-5 years.

Influence of the food environment on obesity risk in a large cohort of US veterans by community type.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine relationships between the food environment and obesity by community type.

Methods: Using electronic health record data from the US Veterans Administration Diabetes Risk (VADR) cohort, we examined associations between the percentage of supermarkets and fast-food restaurants with obesity prevalence from 2008 to 2018. We constructed multivariable logistic regression models with random effects and interaction terms for year and food environment variables.

Menu Labeling and Calories Purchased in Restaurants in a US National Fast Food Chain.

Importance: Menu labeling has been implemented in restaurants in some US jurisdictions as early as 2008, but the extent to which menu labeling is associated with calories purchased is unclear.

Objective: To estimate the association of menu labeling with calories and nutrients purchased and assess geographic variation in results.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cohort study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design using actual transaction data from Taco Bell restaurants from calendar years 2007 to 2014 US restaurants with menu labeling matched to comparison restaurants using synthetic control methods.

Age and sex differences in the association between neighborhood socioeconomic environment and incident diabetes: Results from the diabetes location, environmental attributes and disparities (LEAD) network.

Objective: Worse neighborhood socioeconomic environment (NSEE) may contribute to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We examined whether the relationship between NSEE and T2D differs by sex and age in three study populations.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted a harmonized analysis using data from three independent longitudinal study samples in the US: 1) the Veteran Administration Diabetes Risk (VADR) cohort, 2) the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort, and 3) a case-control study of Geisinger electronic health records in Pennsylvania.

Demographic, social and geographic factors associated with glycaemic control among US Veterans with new onset type 2 diabetes: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: This study evaluated whether a range of demographic, social and geographic factors had an influence on glycaemic control longitudinally after an initial diagnosis of diabetes.

Design, Setting And Participants: We used the US Veterans Administration Diabetes Risk national cohort to track glycaemic control among patients 20-79-year old with a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

Primary Outcome And Methods: We modelled associations between glycaemic control at follow-up clinical assessments and geographic factors including neighbourhood race/ethnicity, socioeconomic, land use and food environment measures.

Assessing the association between food environment and dietary inflammation by community type: a cross-sectional REGARDS study.

Background: Communities in the United States (US) exist on a continuum of urbanicity, which may inform how individuals interact with their food environment, and thus modify the relationship between food access and dietary behaviors.

Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to examine the modifying effect of community type in the association between the relative availability of food outlets and dietary inflammation across the US.

Methods: Using baseline data from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study (2003-2007), we calculated participants' dietary inflammation score (DIS).

Establishing the criterion validity of an adapted dietary screener for Asian Americans amongst Chinese American adults.

Objective: To assess the criterion validity of a dietary screener questionnaire adapted for Asian Americans (ADSQ) compared to Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool (ASA-24) food diary data amongst Chinese American Adults (CHAs). The ADSQ incorporated example ethnic foods from six Asian American groups. Lessons learned with respect to translating the ADSQ from English into Simplified Chinese were also documented.

Consumer behaviour and experiences in a naturalistic online grocery store: implications for nutrition research.

Naturalistic online grocery stores could provide a novel setting for evaluating nutrition interventions. In 2021-2022, we recruited US adults ( 144, 59% low-income) to complete two weekly study visits: one in a naturalistic ('mock') online grocery store developed for research and one in a real online grocery store. Participants selected groceries and responded to survey questions.

Effect of Financial Incentives and Default Options on Food Choices of Adults With Low Income in Online Retail Settings: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Despite recent growth in online redemption of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, no previous work has tested the impact of economic and behavioral economic strategies on food purchasing behaviors in an online grocery retail setting among adults with low income.

Objective: To examine the extent to which financial incentives and default shopping cart options influence fruit and vegetable purchases.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized clinical trial used an experimental online grocery store for adults who currently or have ever received SNAP benefits.

The Health and Economic Impact of Using a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax to Fund Fruit and Vegetable Subsidies in New York City: A Modeling Study.

Low fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and high sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption are independently associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Many people in New York City (NYC) have low FV intake and high SSB consumption, partly due to high cost of fresh FVs and low cost of and easy access to SSBs. A potential implementation of an SSB tax and an FV subsidy program could result in substantial public health and economic benefits.

Online Grocery Shopping Behaviors and Attitudes Among Asian Americans.

How online grocery shopping behaviors differ among Asian American (AA) ethnic subgroups and acculturation level is unknown. From June 9-15, 2020, we administered an online survey to a nationally-derived nonprobability sample of 2,895 AA adults, including 1,737 East, 570 South, and 587 Southeast Asian adults, assessing online grocery shopping (yes/no, frequency, reasons). We used logistic regression to compare responses by subgroup and acculturation score, controlling for sociodemographics.

Age-Specific Differences in Online Grocery Shopping Behaviors and Attitudes among Adults with Low Income in the United States in 2021.

Background: Online grocery shopping has surged in popularity, but we know little about online grocery shopping behaviors and attitudes of adults with low income, including differences by age. Methods: From October to November 2021, we used a survey research firm to recruit a convenience sample of adults who have ever received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (n = 3526). Participants completed an online survey designed to assess diet and online food shopping behaviors.

An Analysis of SNAP Online Purchasing Behavior in California: A Review of the First 7 Months of Program Implementation and Lessons Learned.

Purpose: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) allows for the online purchase of groceries using SNAP benefits. First implemented in California in late April 2020, little is known about program usage. This study assessed initial implementation of SNAP Online in California using SNAP OPP transaction data from April - October 2020.

Disparities in SNAP online grocery delivery and implementation: Lessons learned from California during the 2020-21 COVID pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) was rapidly expanded across the US. This program, enabling direct-to-home grocery delivery, could be a transformative step towards improving fresh-food access. However, lack of information on which areas are serviced by SNAP OPP hinders the identification of potential demographic and regional disparities in access.

Beverage Availability and Price: Variations by Neighborhood Poverty Level in New York City.

Objective: To describe the variability in the availability and price of sugary drinks, low-calorie drinks, and water/seltzer across high- and low-poverty census tracts in the five boroughs of New York City (NYC).

Design: Cross-sectional study. Our primary analysis compared the overall sample of beverages.

Categorizing community type for epidemiologic evaluation of community factors and chronic disease across the United States.

Existing classifications of community type do not differentiate urban cores from surrounding non-rural areas, an important distinction for analyses of community features and their impact on health. Inappropriately classified community types can introduce serious methodologic flaws in epidemiologic studies and invalid inferences from findings. To address this, we evaluate a modification of the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Urban Commuting Area codes at the census tract, propose a four-level categorization of community type, and compare this with existing classifications for epidemiologic analyses.

Impact of land use and food environment on risk of type 2 diabetes: A national study of veterans, 2008-2018.

Background: Large-scale longitudinal studies evaluating influences of the built environment on risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) are scarce, and findings have been inconsistent.

Objective: To evaluate whether land use environment (LUE), a proxy of neighborhood walkability, is associated with T2D risk across different US community types, and to assess whether the association is modified by food environment.

Methods: The Veteran's Administration Diabetes Risk (VADR) study is a retrospective cohort of diabetes-free US veteran patients enrolled in VA primary care facilities nationwide from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2016, and followed longitudinally through December 31, 2018.

Disentangling the roles of generational status and acculturation on dietary behaviors in disaggregated Asian American subgroups.

Introduction: Little is known on the independent effects of generational status and acculturation on the consumption of specific foods among disaggregated Asian American (AA) populations. This study explores the associations of generational status and acculturation with dietary behaviors of a nationwide non-probability sample of 3018 AAs (57.6% East Asian American (EAA), 18.

Differences in Dietary Quality by Sexual Orientation and Sex in the United States: NHANES 2011-2016.

Background: There are persistent disparities in weight- and diet-related diseases by sexual orientation. Lesbian and bisexual females have a higher risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease compared with heterosexual females. Gay and bisexual males have a higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease compared with heterosexual males.

Longitudinal Analysis of Neighborhood Food Environment and Diabetes Risk in the Veterans Administration Diabetes Risk Cohort.

Importance: Diabetes causes substantial morbidity and mortality among adults in the US, yet its incidence varies across the country, suggesting that neighborhood factors are associated with geographical disparities in diabetes.

Objective: To examine the association between neighborhood food environment and risk of incident type 2 diabetes across different community types (high-density urban, low-density urban, suburban, and rural).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This is a national cohort study of 4 100 650 US veterans without type 2 diabetes.

Social Media Accounts of Food and Beverage Brands Have Disproportionately More Black and Hispanic Followers than White Followers.

On television, food companies promote their least nutritious products to Black and Hispanic youth more than White youth, but little is known about the extent to which Black and Hispanic adolescents may disproportionately engage with unhealthy food and beverage brands on social media relative to White adolescents. In 2019, we purchased and analyzed demographic data of social media users who followed 27 of the most marketed food/beverage brands on Instagram and Twitter. We used one-sample -tests to compare percentages of Black, Hispanic, and White followers of the selected brands' accounts versus all social media accounts, and independent samples -tests to compare followers of sugary versus low-calorie drink brands.

Comparing competing geospatial measures to capture the relationship between the neighborhood food environment and diet.

Purpose: To examine how the choice of neighborhood food environment definition impacts the association with diet.

Methods: Using food frequency questionnaire data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study at baseline (2003-2007), we calculated participants' dietary inflammation score (DIS) (n = 20,331); higher scores indicate greater pro-inflammatory exposure. We characterized availability of supermarkets and fast food restaurants using several geospatial measures, including density (i.

A Standardized Guide to Developing an Online Grocery Store for Testing Nutrition-Related Policies and Interventions in an Online Setting.

Simulated online grocery store platforms are innovative tools for studying nutrition-related policies and point-of-selection/point-of-purchase interventions in online retail settings, yet there is no clear guidance on how to develop these platforms for experimental research. Thus, we created a standardized guide for the development of an online grocery store, including a detailed description of (1) methods for acquiring and cleaning online grocery store data, and (2) how to design a two-dimensional online grocery store experimental platform. We provide guidance on how to address product categorization, product order/sorting and product details, including how to identify outliers and conflicting nutritional information and methods for standardizing prices.

Changes in diet and food shopping behaviors among Asian-American adults due to COVID-19.

Objective: COVID-19 has changed diet and food shopping behaviors, but a lack of disaggregated data by racial and ethnic subgroup makes it challenging to identify whether specific populations are experiencing greater challenges in safely securing an adequate food supply and engaging in healthy eating behaviors during the pandemic. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure such changes among Asian-American (AA) adults, overall and by ethnic subgroup.

Methods: Using a nationally derived nonprobability sample, 3084 AA adults were recruited, including 1737 East Asian, 570 South Asian, 587 Southeast Asian, and 124 multiethnic Asian adults.