TY - JOUR
T1 - Food Supply and the obesity scourge: Is there a relationship?
AU - Mwanri, Lillian
AU - Foley, Wendy
AU - Coveney, John
AU - Muller, Robert
AU - Verity, Fiona
AU - Ward, Paul
AU - Carter, Patricia
AU - Mohr, Philip
AU - Taylor, Anne
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - This paper reviews literature on the relationship between food supply and obesity. The focus is on the supply, cost, and variety of food through various types of food outlets and the impact of these factors on obesity in developed countries. The article reveals complex relationships between food supply factors and obesity. A number of factors related to lifestyles including the mobility of populations and the use of motor vehicles greatly reduce the impact of the local environment on family and individual eating patterns. However, obesity is also affected by factors such as the type and density of food outlets, the cost of food, the travel distance and means of transport to the food outlet. While the relationship between food supply and obesity in the literature reveals complex and mixed findings, this paper concludes obesity is complex and food supply is only part of this phenomenon’s predictors. Because the relationship between food supply and obesity is mediated by such multiple and complex factors including population behaviours, beliefs, lifestyles, knowledge and both food and physical environments; multiple strategies including policy development and other strategies aimed at manipulating food environments, physical environments, populations’ beliefs, behaviours and practices must be considered in searching for evidence to effectively combat obesity.
AB - This paper reviews literature on the relationship between food supply and obesity. The focus is on the supply, cost, and variety of food through various types of food outlets and the impact of these factors on obesity in developed countries. The article reveals complex relationships between food supply factors and obesity. A number of factors related to lifestyles including the mobility of populations and the use of motor vehicles greatly reduce the impact of the local environment on family and individual eating patterns. However, obesity is also affected by factors such as the type and density of food outlets, the cost of food, the travel distance and means of transport to the food outlet. While the relationship between food supply and obesity in the literature reveals complex and mixed findings, this paper concludes obesity is complex and food supply is only part of this phenomenon’s predictors. Because the relationship between food supply and obesity is mediated by such multiple and complex factors including population behaviours, beliefs, lifestyles, knowledge and both food and physical environments; multiple strategies including policy development and other strategies aimed at manipulating food environments, physical environments, populations’ beliefs, behaviours and practices must be considered in searching for evidence to effectively combat obesity.
KW - Complex Relationships
KW - Food outlets
KW - Food supply
KW - Obesity
KW - Socio economic status
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921272669&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4236/health.2012.412A210
DO - 10.4236/health.2012.412A210
M3 - Article
SN - 1949-4998
VL - 4
SP - 1457
EP - 1463
JO - Health
JF - Health
IS - 12
ER -