The role of the built environment, food prices and neighborhood poverty in fruit and vegetable consumption: An instrumental variable analysis of the moving to opportunity experiment

Abstract

The food environment has been associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, however many studies utilize cross-sectional research designs. This study examined 3,473 participants in the Moving to Opportunity experiment, who were randomized into groups that affected where they lived. The relationship between the built environment, food prices and neighborhood poverty, assessed over four to seven years, on fruit or vegetable consumption was examined using instrumental variable analysis. Higher food prices and neighborhood poverty were associated with lower fruit or vegetable consumption. Policies and programs that address food prices should be implemented and evaluated for their effects on fruit and vegetable consumption.

Keywords: Food availability; Food price; Moving to opportunity; Neighborhood; Public housing.