The Effects of Food Environment on Obesity in Children: A Systematic Review

Johanna Key; Donna Burnett; Jeganathan Ramesh Babu; Thangiah Geetha

doi:10.3390/children10010098

The Effects of Food Environment on Obesity in Children: A Systematic Review

Children (Basel). 2023 Jan 3;10(1):98. doi: 10.3390/children10010098.

Authors

Johanna Key¹, Donna Burnett^{1

2}, Jeganathan Ramesh Babu^{1

2}, Thangiah Geetha^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
² Boshell Metabolic Diseases and Diabetes Program, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.

Abstract

Childhood obesity is an epidemic connected with poor eating. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS), food deserts are geographical locations in which residents have restricted or nonexistent access to healthful and quality food. Restricted access to healthy food is commonly associated with poor nutrition-related health outcomes, including obesity. This review aims to highlight the relationship between residing in a food desert or a similar environment on body mass index (BMI) in school-aged children in North America, predominantly in the Midwest region of the United States and Mexico. In this study, 17 articles were included from PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Crossref. Most of these studies showed no association between the food environment and increased BMI. This discrepancy emphasizes the need for further research; the lack of access to healthful foods in food deserts is an issue that deserves additional attention.

Keywords: body mass index; childhood obesity; environment; food desert.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Alabama Agricultural Experimental Station (AAES), Hatch/Multistate Funding Program and AAES Award for Interdisciplinary Research (AAES-AIR) to J.R.B. and T.G.