African Americans Access to Healthy Food Options in South Los Angeles Restaurants
LaVonna Blair Lewis, PhD,
David C. Sloane, PhD,
Lori Miller Nascimento, MPH,
Allison L. Diamant, MD, MPH,
Joyce Jones Guinyard, DC,
Antronette K. Yancey, MD, MPH,
Gwendolyn Flynn for the REACH Coalition of the African Americans Building A Legacy Of Health Project
LaVonna Blair Lewis and David C. Sloane are at the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development, Los Angeles. Lori Miller Nascimento is with the Division of Community Health, Department of Family Medicine, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles. Allison L. Diamant is with the Department of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Medicine. Joyce Jones Guinyard and Gwendolyn Flynn are with Community Health Councils, Inc, Los Angeles. Antronette K. Yancey is with the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to LaVonna Blair Lewis, PhD, School of Policy, Planning and Development, University of Southern California, 650 Childs Way, Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall Room 309, Los Angeles, CA 900890626 (e-mail: llewis{at}usc.edu).
Objectives. We examined availability and food options at restaurantsin less affluent (target area) and more affluent (comparisonarea) areas of Los Angeles County to compare residentsaccess to healthy meals prepared and purchased away from home.We also considered environmental prompts that encourage thepurchase of various foods.
Methods. We designed an instrument to assess the availability,quality, and preparation of food in restaurants. We also assessedadvertisements and promotions, cleanliness, and service foreach restaurant. We assessed 659 restaurants: 348 in the targetarea and 311 in the comparison area.
Results. The nutritional resource environment in our targetarea makes it challenging for residents to eat healthy awayfrom home. Poorer neighborhoods with a higher proportion ofAfrican American residents have fewer healthy options available,both in food selections and in food preparation; restaurantsin these neighborhoods heavily promote unhealthy food optionsto residents.
Conclusions. Environment is important in understanding healthstatus: support for the healthy lifestyle associated with lowerrisks for disease is difficult in poorer communities with ahigher proportion of African American residents.
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