A Spatial Analysis of Food Insecurity and Body Mass Index with Income and Grocery Store Density in a Diverse Sample of Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract: Food insecurity occurs when a household lacks consistent access to food and is more prevalent in ethnic and racial minoritized populations. While there has been a proliferation of research linking food insecurity to obesity, these findings are mixed. It may be helpful to consider some additional geographic factors that may be associated with both factors including socioeconomic status and grocery store density. The purpose of the current study aimed to examine spatial relationships between food insecurity and SES/store density and BMI and SES/store density in a diverse sample of adolescents and young adults across two studies in a large, urban city. GIS analysis revealed that participants with the highest food insecurity (larger symbols) tend to live in the zip codes with the lowest median income. There did not appear to be clear a relationship between food insecurity and store density. Participants with the highest BMI tend to live in zip codes with lower median income and participants with higher BMI tended to live further away from downtown, which has the highest concentration of grocery stores in the city. Our findings may help to inform future interventions and policy approaches to addressing both obesity and food insecurity in areas of higher prevalence.