J Nutr Health.  2014 Oct;47(5):351-363. 10.4163/jnh.2014.47.5.351.

Developing and testing the reliability of a measurement tool for an urban area food environment in Korea: Focusing on food stores

• Jang MJ
• Shin S
• Kim SA
• Chung S
• Paik HY
• Choe JS
• Hong EJ
• Joung H

• KMID: 2327168
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2014.47.5.351

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to develop a reliable measurement tool to assess the urban food environment, particularly focusing on food stores in Korea.
METHODS
The items for the measurement tool were selected through systematic literature reviews and adjusted to the Korean food environment. A total of 25 food stores in an urban area were recruited for the pilot test to evaluate the time required for completion of the survey, ease of response, willingness to participate, difficulties in conducting the survey, and appropriateness, and 34 food stores were recruited for assessment of the reliability of the tool using percent agreement and kappa value.
RESULTS
The measurement tool is composed of questions regarding food store characteristics, accessibility, and food availability. On average, 26 minutes was required to survey a single food store, and the subjects and interviewers answered that the process was not difficult for the survey. The percent agreement for the inter-rater and test-retest reliability ranged from 93.9~98.8% and 91.9~97.9, respectively. The kappa values ranged from 0.78 to 0.97, which was very high. Percent agreement and kappa value of food with healthy option were lower than those of the general food in the inter-rater reliability (p = 0.0027, p = 0.0095 respectively) as well as in the test-retest reliability (p = 0.0081, p = 0.0290, respectively), although they were still high enough (86.4~98.0% for percent agreement, 0.64~0.96 for kappa value).
CONCLUSION
The newly developed measurement tool for assessment of food store environment appears to be feasible and reliable; therefore, it can be applied to research on the association between food environment and dietary behaviors as well as health outcomes.

Keyword

food environment; food stores; measurement tool; feasibility; reliability

MeSH Terms

Korea

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Study flow for developing a food environment measurement tool.

Reference

References

1. Story M, Kaphingst KM, Robinson-O'Brien R, Glanz K. Creating healthy food and eating environments: policy and environmental approaches. Annu Rev Public Health. 2008; 29:253–272.

2. Brownson RC, Haire-Joshu D, Luke DA. Shaping the context of health: a review of environmental and policy approaches in the prevention of chronic diseases. Annu Rev Public Health. 2006; 27:341–370.

3. Glanz K, Sallis JF, Saelens BE, Frank LD. Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in stores (NEMS-S): development and evaluation. Am J Prev Med. 2007; 32(4):282–289.

4. Anderson A, Dewar J, Marshall D, Cummins S, Taylor M, Dawson J, Sparks L. The development of a healthy eating indicator shopping basket tool (HEISB) for use in food access studies-identification of key food items. Public Health Nutr. 2007; 10(12):1440–1447.

5. Gloria CT, Steinhardt MA. Texas nutrition environment assessment of retail food stores (TxNEA-S): development and evaluation. Public Health Nutr. 2010; 13(11):1764–1772.

6. Pearce J, Witten K, Bartie P. Neighbourhoods and health: a GIS approach to measuring community resource accessibility. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006; 60(5):389–395.

7. Dean WR, Sharkey JR. Rural and urban differences in the associations between characteristics of the community food environment and fruit and vegetable intake. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2011; 43(6):426–433.

8. Cummins S, Smith DM, Aitken Z, Dawson J, Marshall D, Sparks L, Anderson AS. Neighbourhood deprivation and the price and availability of fruit and vegetables in Scotland. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2010; 23(5):494–501.

9. Morland K, Wing S, Diez Roux A, Poole C. Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of food stores and food service places. Am J Prev Med. 2002; 22(1):23–29.

10. Rundle A, Neckerman KM, Freeman L, Lovasi GS, Purciel M, Quinn J, Richards C, Sircar N, Weiss C. Neighborhood food environment and walkability predict obesity in New York City. Environ Health Perspect. 2009; 117(3):442–447.

11. Chaix B, Bean K, Daniel M, Zenk SN, Kestens Y, Charreire H, Leal C, Thomas F, Karusisi N, Weber C, Oppert JM, Simon C, Merlo J, Pannier B. Associations of supermarket characteristics with weight status and body fat: a multilevel analysis of individuals within supermarkets (RECORD study). PLoS One. 2012; 7(4):): e32908.

12. Morland K, Diez Roux AV, Wing S. Supermarkets, other food stores, and obesity: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. Am J Prev Med. 2006; 30(4):333–339.

13. World Health Organization (CH). Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization;2014. [cited 2014 Jun 5]. Available from:. http://www.who.int/diet-physicalactivity/goals/en/.

14. Kumanyika S, Jeffery RW, Morabia A, Ritenbaugh C, Antipatis VJ. Public Health Approaches to the Prevention of Obesity (PHAPO) Working Group of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Obesity prevention: the case for action. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002; 26(3):425–436.

15. National Cancer Institute (US). Measure of the food environment [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Cancer Institute;2013. [updated 2013 Sep 26; cited 2014 June 5]. Available from:. http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/mfe/instruments/.

16. Joung HJ, Kim BH, Song YJ, Lee JE. 2 Status of problem in public health nutrition. In: Nutrition in Public Health. Paju: Yangseowon;2013. p. 58–70.

17. Kang M, Joung H, Lim JH, Lee YS, Song YJ. Secular trend in dietary patterns in a Korean adult population, using the 1998, 2001, and 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Korean J Nutr. 2011; 44(2):152–161.

18. Lee KI, Joo HJ, Ishibashi K, Lee YS, Jeon HJ. A comparative analysis of juveniles' food consumption trends in Korea, China and Japan. J Rural Dev. 2009; 32(1):1–19.

19. Suh Y, Kang J, Kim H, Chung YJ. Comparison of nutritional status of the Daejeon metropolitan citizens by frequency of eating out. Korean J Nutr. 2010; 43(2):171–180.

20. Cha YS, Yang HS, Ahan EM, Rho JO. A study on the current nutrition labeling practices for the processed foods in Jeonju and Daegu area. J East Asian Soc Diet Life. 2005; 15(4):483–492.

21. Choi YS, Chang N, Joung H, Cho SH, Park HK. A study on the guideline amounts of sugar, sodium and fats in processed foods met to children's taste. Korean J Nutr. 2008; 41(6):561–572.

22. Johnson RK, Appel LJ, Brands M, Howard BV, Lefevre M, Lustig RH, Sacks F, Steffen LM, Wylie-Rosett J. American Heart Association Nutrition Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism and the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. Dietary sugars intake and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2009; 120(11):1011–1020.

23. Beegom R, Singh RB. Association of higher saturated fat intake with higher risk of hypertension in an urban population of Trivan-drum in south India. Int J Cardiol. 1997; 58(1):63–70.

24. van Dam RM, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Dietary fat and meat intake in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in men. Diabetes Care. 2002; 25(3):417–424.

25. Giovannucci E, Rimm EB, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Chute CG, Willett WC. A prospective study of dietary fat and risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993; 85(19):1571–1579.

26. Krauss RM, Eckel RH, Howard B, Appel LJ, Daniels SR, Deckelbaum RJ, Erdman JW Jr, Kris-Etherton P, Goldberg IJ, Kotchen TA, Lichtenstein AH, Mitch WE, Mullis R, Robinson K, Wylie-Rosett J, St Jeor S, Suttie J, Tribble DL, Bazzarre TL. AHA Dietary Guidelines: revision 2000: a statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2000; 102(18):2284–2299.

27. Korea Rural Economic Institute. 2013 Consumer behavior survey for food statistics report [Internet]. Seoul: Korea Rural Economic Institute;2013. [updated 2013 Dec 30; cited 2014 Aug 28]. Available from:. http://library.krei.re.kr/dl_images/001/036/E16–2013–1.pdf.

28. Treuhaft S, Karpyn A. The grocery gap: who has access to healthy food and why it matters [Internet]. Oakland (CA): Policy Link;2010. [cited 2014 Sep 11]. Available from:. http://www.poli-cylink.org/sites/default/files/FINALGroceryGap.pdf.

29. Leone AF, Rigby S, Betterley C, Park S, Kurtz H, Johnson MA, Lee JS. Store type and demographic influence on the availability and price of healthful foods, Leon County, Florida, 2008. Prev Chronic Dis. 2011; 8(6):): A140.

30. Franco M, Diez-Roux AV, Nettleton JA, Lazo M, Brancati F, Caballero B, Glass T, Moore LV. Availability of healthy foods and dietary patterns: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009; 89(3):897–904.

31. Health Canada. Measuring the food environment in Canada [Internet]. Ottawa: Health Canada;2013. [updated 2013 Oct 10; cited 2014 Sep 11]. Available from:. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/pol/index-eng.php.

32. Statistics Korea. Korean standard industrial classification, 2008 [Internet]. Daejeon: Statistics Korea;2014. [updated 2014 May 21; cited 2014 Sep 16]. Available from:. http://kssc.kostat.go.kr/kssc-New_web/index.jsp#.

33. National Cancer Institute (US). Measures of the food environment: Texas Nutrition Environment Assessment (TxNEA) [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Cancer Institute;2013. [updated 2013 Sep 26; cited 2014 Jun 5]. Available from:. http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/mfe/instruments/gloria_texas_dshs_tx-nea_tool.pdf.

34. National Cancer Institute (US). Nutrition environment measures survey (NEMS) Yale Rudd Center revised version food outlet cover page [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Cancer Institute;2013. [updated 2013 Sep 26; cited 2014 Aug 28]. Available from:. http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/mfe/instruments/andreyeva-rudd-center-nemsinstrument.

35. National Cancer Institute (US). Measure of the food environment: Health Empowerment Zone (HEZ) grocery store checklist [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Cancer Institute;2013. [updated 2013 Sep 26; cited 2014 Jun 5]. Available from:. http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/mfe/instruments/braunschweig_hez_grocery_-store_checklist.pdf.

36. Landis JR, Koch GG. The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 1977; 33(1):159–174.

37. Yu KJ, Yoon HH. The influence of values on attitude and behavioral intention of consumers towards organic food: the moderating effect of ethical consumption consciousness. Korean J Hosp Adm. 2014; 23(2):47–68.

38. Powell LM, Auld MC, Chaloupka FJ, O'Malley PM, Johnston LD. Associations between access to food stores and adolescent body mass index. Am J Prev Med. 2007; 33(4 Suppl):): S301-S307.

39. Caldwell EM, Miller Kobayashi M, DuBow WM, Wytinck SM. Perceived access to fruits and vegetables associated with increased consumption. Public Health Nutr. 2009; 12(10):1743–1750.

40. Izumi BT, Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Mentz GB, Wilson C. Associations between neighborhood availability and individual consumption of dark-green and orange vegetables among ethnically diverse adults in Detroit. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111(2):274–279.

41. Sloane DC, Diamant AL, Lewis LB, Yancey AK, Flynn G, Nascimento LM, McCarthy WJ, Guinyard JJ, Cousineau MR. REACH Coalition of the African American Building a Legacy of Health Project. Improving the nutritional resource environment for healthy living through community-based participatory research. J Gen Intern Med. 2003; 18(7):568–575.

42. Block JP, Scribner RA, DeSalvo KB. Fast food, race/ethnicity, and income: a geographic analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2004; 27(3):211–217.

43. Powell LM, Slater S, Mirtcheva D, Bao Y, Chaloupka FJ. Food store availability and neighborhood characteristics in the United States. Prev Med. 2007; 44(3):189–195.

44. Song HJ, Gittelsohn J, Kim M, Suratkar S, Sharma S, Anliker J. A corner store intervention in a low-income urban community is associated with increased availability and sales of some healthy foods. Public Health Nutr. 2009; 12(11):2060–2067.

46. Hendrickson D, Smith C, Eikenberry N. Fruit and vegetable access in four low-income food deserts communities in Minnesota. Agric Human Values. 2006; 23(3):371–383.

47. French SA, Harnack LJ, Hannan PJ, Mitchell NR, Gerlach AF, Toomey TL. Worksite environment intervention to prevent obesity among metropolitan transit workers. Prev Med. 2010; 50(4):180–185.

48. French SA, Story M, Fulkerson JA, Hannan P. An environmental intervention to promote lower-fat food choices in secondary schools: outcomes of the TACOS Study. Am J Public Health. 2004; 94(9):1507–1512.