Mobile food vendors in urban neighborhoods-Implications for diet and diet-related health by weather and season

Sean C. Lucan, Andrew R. Maroko, Joel Bumol, Monica Varona, Luis Torrens, Clyde B. Schechter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study describes mobile food vendors (street vendors) in Bronx, NY, considering neighborhood-level correlations with demographic, diet, and diet-related health measures from City data. Vendors offering exclusively "less-healthy" foods (e.g., chips, processed meats, sweets) outnumbered vendors offering exclusively "healthier" foods (e.g., produce, whole grains, nuts). Wet days and winter months reduced all vending on streets, but exclusively "less-healthy" vending most. In summer, exclusively "less-healthy" vending per capita inversely correlated with neighborhood-mean fruit-and-vegetable consumption and directly correlated with neighborhood-mean BMI and prevalences of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia (Spearman correlations 0.90-1.00, p values 0.037 to <0.001). In winter, "less-healthy" vending per capita directly correlated with proportions of Hispanic residents and those living in poverty (Spearman correlations 0.90, p values 0.037). Mobile food vending may contribute negatively to urban food-environment healthfulness overall, but exacerbation of demographic, diet, and diet-related health disparities may vary by weather, season, and neighborhood characteristics.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)171-175
Number of pages5
JournalHealth and Place
Volume27
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2014

Keywords

  • Disparities
  • Food environment
  • Mobile food vendors
  • Seasonality
  • Street foods

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mobile food vendors in urban neighborhoods-Implications for diet and diet-related health by weather and season'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this