An Assessment of the Food Retail Environment in Counties with High Obesity Rates in Mississippi
ORCID
Buys: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8547-056X
MSU Affiliation
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Department of Agricultural Economics; Department of Food Science, Nutritrion and Health Promotion
Creation Date
2026-01-29
Abstract
Low dietary quality and high obesity rates have been associated with poor food environments. Existing literature on food environments generally uses store audits, which presents several limitations. Our study addresses this shortcoming by using store-level scanner data to analyze prices and store healthfulness across counties with high and low obesity rates in Mississippi. We find that overall food prices are lower in counties with higher obesity rates, which seems to be driven by the lower prices of unhealthy foods. In contrast, healthy foods are more expensive in counties with higher rates of obesity compared with the rest of the state.
Publication Date
12-7-2020
Publication Title
Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
First Page
571
Last Page
593
Recommended Citation
Fan, L., Canales, E., Fountain, B., & Buys, D. (2021). An Assessment of the Food Retail Environment in Counties with High Obesity Rates in Mississippi. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 16(4), 571–593. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2020.1852147
