Nutrition Research and Practice

The Korean Nutrition Society (한국영양학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Food deserts in Korea? A GIS analysis of food consumption patterns at sub-district level in Seoul using the KNHANES 2008-2012 data

  • Kim, Dohyeong (School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas) ;
  • Lee, Chang Kil (Department of Urban Policy and Administration, Incheon National University) ;
  • Seo, Dong Yeon (Division of Architecture and Urban Planning, Incheon National University)
  • Received : 2015.11.04
  • Accepted : 2016.05.12
  • Published : 2016.10.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The concept of "food deserts" has been widely used in Western countries as a framework to identify areas with constrained access to fresh and nutritious foods, providing guidelines for targeted nutrition and public health programs. Unlike the vast amount of literature on food deserts in a Western context, only a few studies have addressed the concept in an East Asian context, and none of them have investigated spatial patterns of unhealthy food consumption from a South Korean perspective. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We first evaluated the applicability of food deserts in a Korean setting and identified four Korean-specific unhealthy food consumption indicators, including insufficient food consumption due to financial difficulty, limited consumption of fruits and vegetables, excessive consumption of junk food, and excessive consumption of instant noodles. The KNHANES 2008-2012 data in Seoul were analyzed with stratified sampling weights to understand the trends and basic characteristics of these eating patterns in each category. GIS analyses were then conducted for the data spatially aggregated at the sub-district level in order to create maps identifying areas of concern regarding each of these indicators and their combinations. RESULTS: Despite significant reduction in the rate of food insufficiency due to financial difficulty, the rates of excessive consumption of unhealthy foods (junk food and instant noodles) as well as limited consumption of fruits and vegetables have increased or remained high. These patterns tend to be found among relatively younger and more educated groups, regardless of income status. CONCLUSIONS: A GIS-based analysis demonstrated several hotspots as potential "food deserts" tailored to the Korean context based on the observed spatial patterns of undesirable food consumption. These findings could be used as a guide to prioritize areas for targeted intervention programs to facilitate healthy food consumption behaviors and thus improve nutrition and food-related health outcomes.

Keywords

References

  1. Cummins S, Macintyre S. The location of food stores in urban areas: a case study in Glasgow. Br Food J 1999;101:545-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/00070709910279027
  2. Walker RE, Keane CR, Burke JG. Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States: a review of food deserts literature. Health Place 2010;16:876-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.04.013
  3. Furey S, Strugnell C, McIlveen MH. An investigation of the potential existence of "food deserts" in rural and urban areas of Northern Ireland. Agric Human Values 2001;18:447-57. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015218502547
  4. Kim K, Kim MK, Shin YJ. The concept and measurement of food security. J Prev Med Public Health 2008;41:387-96. https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2008.41.6.387
  5. Moore LV, Diez Roux AV. Associations of neighborhood characteristics with the location and type of food stores. Am J Public Health 2006;96:325-31. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.058040
  6. Galvez MP, Morland K, Raines C, Kobil J, Siskind J, Godbold J, Brenner B. Race and food store availability in an inner-city neighbourhood. Public Health Nutr 2008;11:624-31.
  7. Gordon C, Purciel-Hill M, Ghai NR, Kaufman L, Graham R, Van Wye G. Measuring food deserts in New York City's low-income neighborhoods. Health Place 2011;17:696-700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.12.012
  8. Carolan MS. Reclaiming Food Security. Abingdon: Routledge; 2013.
  9. Schafft KA, Jensen EB, Hinrichs CC. Food deserts and overweight schoolchildren: evidence from Pennsylvania. Rural Sociol 2009;74:153-77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2009.tb00387.x
  10. Jennings A, Cassidy A, Winters T, Barnes S, Lipp A, Holland R, Welch A. Positive effect of a targeted intervention to improve access and availability of fruit and vegetables in an area of deprivation. Health Place 2012;18:1074-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.05.001
  11. Hanibuchi T, Kondo K, Nakaya T, Nakade M, Ojima T, Hirai H, Kawachi I. Neighborhood food environment and body mass index among Japanese older adults: results from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES). Int J Health Geogr 2011;10:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-072X-10-43
  12. Iwama N, Tanaka K, Sasaki M, Komaki N, Saito Y. The dietary life of the elderly in local cities and food desert issues: a case study of Mito city, Ibaraki prefecture. Jpn J Hum Geogr 2009;61:139-56. https://doi.org/10.4200/jjhg.61.2_139
  13. Choi Y, Suzuki T. Food deserts, activity patterns, & social exclusion: the case of Tokyo, Japan. Appl Geogr 2013;43:87-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.05.009
  14. Murakami K, Sasaki S, Takahashi Y, Uenishi K; Japan Dietetic Students' Study for Nutrition and Biomarkers Group. Neighborhood food store availability in relation to food intake in young Japanese women. Nutrition 2009;25:640-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2009.01.002
  15. Pearson T, Russell J, Campbell MJ, Barker ME. Do 'food deserts' influence fruit and vegetable consumption?--A cross-sectional study. Appetite 2005;45:195-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2005.04.003
  16. Moon S. A study on determining the extent of damage and decreasing rate of supermarket sales by new SSM store. The 2010 Fall Conference of KREAA. Seoul: Korea Real Estate Analysts Association; 2010. p.355-75.
  17. Park EY, Han SN, Kim HK. Assessment of meal quality and dietary behaviors of children in low-income families by diet records and interviews. Korean J Food Nutr 2011;24:145-52. https://doi.org/10.9799/ksfan.2011.24.2.145
  18. Hwang JY, Ru SY, Ryu HK, Park HJ, Kim WY. Socioeconomic factors relating to obesity and inadequate nutrient intake in women in low income families residing in Seoul. Korean J Nutr 2009;42:171-82. https://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2009.42.2.171
  19. Nam KH, Kim YM, Lee GE, Lee YN, Joung H. Physical development and dietary behaviors of children in low-income families of Seoul area. Korean J Community Nutr 2006;11:172-9.
  20. Jang HB, Park JY, Lee HJ, Kang JH, Park KH, Song J. Association between parental socioeconomic level, overweight, and eating habits with diet quality in Korean sixth grade school children. Korean J Nutr 2011;44:416-27. https://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2011.44.5.416
  21. Chun IA, Ryu SY, Park J, Ro HK, Han MA. Associations between food insecurity and healthy behaviors among Korean adults. Nutr Res Pract 2015;9:425-32. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2015.9.4.425
  22. Kim HJ, Oh K. Household food insecurity and dietary intake in Korea: results from the 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Public Health Nutr 2015;18:3317-25. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000725
  23. Kim HJ, Lee HJ. Food security in Korea and its policy agendas. Health Soc Welf Rev 2012;32:468-99. https://doi.org/10.15709/hswr.2012.32.2.468
  24. Kim S, Moon S, Popkin BM. The nutrition transition in South Korea. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:44-53. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/71.1.44
  25. Kwon YS, Ju SY. Trends in nutrient intakes and consumption while eating-out among Korean adults based on Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1998-2012) data. Nutr Res Pract 2014;8:670-8. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2014.8.6.670
  26. Kim Y, Kwon YS, Park YH, Choe JS, Lee JY. Analysis of consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits in Korean adolescents based on Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey (2006, 2011). Nutr Res Pract 2015;9:411-9. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2015.9.4.411
  27. Heo GJ, Nam SY, Lee SK, Chung SJ, Yoon JH. The relationship between high energy/low nutrient food consumption and obesity among Korean children and adolescents. Korean J Community Nutr 2012;17:226-42. https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.2.226
  28. Park S, Choi BY, Wang Y, Colantuoni E, Gittelsohn J. School and neighborhood nutrition environment and their association with students' nutrition behaviors and weight status in Seoul, South Korea. J Adolesc Health 2013;53:655-662.e12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.06.002
  29. Shin HJ, Cho E, Lee HJ, Fung TT, Rimm E, Rosner B, Manson JE, Wheelan K, Hu FB. Instant noodle intake and dietary patterns are associated with distinct cardiometabolic risk factors in Korea. J Nutr 2014;144:1247-55. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.113.188441
  30. Lee SY, Ha SA, Seo JS, Sohn CM, Park HR, Kim KW. Eating habits and eating behaviors by family dinner frequency in the lower-grade elementary school students. Nutr Res Pract 2014;8:679-87. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2014.8.6.679
  31. Seo HS, Lee SK, Nam S. Factors influencing fast food consumption behaviors of middle-school students in Seoul: an application of theory of planned behaviors. Nutr Res Pract 2011;5:169-78. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2011.5.2.169
  32. Lee JS, Kim J. Vegetable intake in Korea: data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1998, 2001 and 2005. Br J Nutr 2010;103:1499-506. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114509993527
  33. Park J, Lee JS, Jang YA, Chung HR, Kim J. A comparison of food and nutrient intake between instant noodle consumers and non-instant noodle consumers in Korean adults. Nutr Res Pract 2011;5:443-9. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2011.5.5.443
  34. Seo S, Kim D, Min S, Paul C, Yoo Y, Choung JT. GIS-based association between PM10 and allergic diseases in Seoul: implications for health and environmental policy. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res 2016;8:32-40. https://doi.org/10.4168/aair.2016.8.1.32
  35. Kweon S, Kim Y, Jang MJ, Kim Y, Kim K, Choi S, Chun C, Khang YH, Oh K. Data resource profile: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Int J Epidemiol 2014;43:69-77. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt228
  36. Goodchild MF, Anselin L, Deichmann U. A framework for the areal interpolation of socioeconomic data. Environ Plan A 1993;25:383-97. https://doi.org/10.1068/a250383
  37. Carver SJ. Integrating multi-criteria evaluation with geographical information systems. Int J Geogr Inf Syst 1991;5:321-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/02693799108927858
  38. Lytle LA. Measuring the food environment: state of the science. Am J Prev Med 2009;36:S134-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.018
  39. 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;29:253-72. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090926
  40. Austin SB, Melly SJ, Sanchez BN, Patel A, Buka S, Gortmaker SL. Clustering of fast-food restaurants around schools: a novel application of spatial statistics to the study of food environments. Am J Public Health 2005;95:1575-81. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.056341
  41. Yeom HA, Jung D, Choi M. Adherence to physical activity among older adults using a geographical information system: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey IV. Asian Nurs Res (Korean Soc Nurs Sci) 2011;5:118-27.
  42. Rose D, Bodor JN, Swalm CM, Rice JC, Farley TA, Hutchinson PL. Deserts in New Orleans? Illustrations of Urban Food Access and Implications for Policy. Ann Arbor (MI): University of Michigan National Poverty Center/USDA Economic Research Service Research; 2009.

Cited by

  1. How Leisure Venues Are and Why? A Geospatial Perspective in Wuhan, Central China vol.9, pp.10, 2017, https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101865
  2. Comparison of Objective and Perceived Access to Food Stores Associated with Intake Frequencies of Vegetables/Fruits and Meat/Fish among Community-Dwelling Older Japanese vol.16, pp.5, 2016, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050772
  3. The interface between consumers and their food environment in Myanmar: an exploratory mixed-methods study vol.22, pp.6, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980018003427
  4. Crowdsourced Mapping for Healthy Food Accessibility in Dallas, Texas: A Feasibility Study vol.8, pp.None, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00071
  5. 도시지역 일부 노인에서 지역사회 식품의 접근성 측면에서의 식품환경 인식에 대한 질적 연구 vol.25, pp.2, 2020, https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2020.25.2.137
  6. Analysis of Accessibility Changes to Neighborhood Food Environment and Food Desert Phenomenon in Seoul, Korea : Focused on the High-density Areas of Low-income Older Adults vol.56, pp.1, 2016, https://doi.org/10.17208/jkpa.2021.02.56.1.137
  7. The Food Environments of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in East and Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review vol.13, pp.1, 2016, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010148