“Food deserts”—evidence and assumption in health policy making
Open accessAbstract
Assertions can be reported so often that they are considered true ("factoids"). They may sometimes even be used to determine health policy when empirical information is lacking. Steven Cummins and Sally Macintyre use the claimed existence of "food deserts" - poor urban areas where residents cannot buy affordable, healthy food - to illustrate why policy makers need to look more critically at the facts.
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In the United Kingdom, randomized controlled studies on placement of supermarkets in low-income food deserts altered where shopping was done but did not affect food purchasing patterns.
“In the United Kingdom, for example, randomized controlled studies on placement of supermarkets in low-income food deserts altered where shopping was done but did not affect food purchasing patterns.325,326”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [325]
Recent IOM and USDA reports concluded availability of local supermarkets was cross-sectionally associated with healthier choices and fewer CVD risk factors, but causal inference was limited, without strong evidence that placement of a new food outlet offering healthy choices will improve diet of people in these communities.
“Recent IOM and USDA reports concluded that the availability of local supermarkets was cross-sectionally associated with healthier choices and fewer CVD risk factors, but that causal inference was limited, without strong evidence that placement of a new food outlet that offers healthy choices will improve the diet of people in these communities.325,327–329”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [325]
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- Authors
- Cummins, S., & Macintyre, S.
- Affiliations
- MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cummins, Steven
- ORCID
- Cummins, Steven
- Venue
- BMJ
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2002-08-24
- Volume
- 325
- Issue
- 7361
- Pages
- 436-438
- ISSN
- 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
- 0959-8138
- 1468-5833
- PMC
- PMC1123946
- OpenAlex
- W2122769292
- Cited by
- 558
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 25.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Licence
- www.bmj.com/company/legal-information/terms-conditions/legal-information/tdm-licencepolicy (tdm)
- Locations
- BMJ (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion)
- LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Public Health Policies and Education
- Keywords
- food deserts, health policy development, evidence-based policy, factoids, urban food access, healthy food affordability, policy assumptions
- MeSH terms
- Food, United Kingdom, Humans, Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Poverty Areas, Urban Health, Nutrition Policy, Evidence-Based Medicine
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