Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Background: The food environment includes all the foods we see around us and how easily we can access them. When the food environment is unhealthy, people eat more unhealthy foods and have higher body weights. Low-income areas tend to have the most unhealthy food environments but it is not clear how to improve them. Purpose of this research: I will study how the food environment influences people's food choices and body weights. Research I will do: 1) I will develop a tool to measure the quality of fruits and vegetables. Then I will study whether the quality of produce sold in stores in low-income areas is low compared to higher income areas. 2) I will use a large database with information from > 4,900 low-income women and children to study which factors have the strongest influence on their food choices and body weights. 3) I will study which policies help low-income women and children to eat healthfully and maintain healthy body weights. What I expect to find: 1) I expect to find that the quality of fruits and vegetables is poor in low-income areas, and believe this may be a reason why persons with low-incomes eat fewer fruits and vegetables. 2) I believe the availability of healthy foods will strongly influence what foods people eat and their body weights. 3) I expect that policies that educate people about healthy food choices will be less effective than those that change the environment to make sure healthy foods are available. Why this research is important to Canada: This research will lead to policies that help people to make better food choices. People who eat healthfully tend to be physically, socially and mentally healthier. Therefore, this research will help to improve people's overall health, their quality of life and to reduce health care costs.