330924
Might Supermarket Availability Influence Weight Management Program Participation?
Despite tremendous investment in obesity treatment, little headway has been made. Of those who try, less than half succeed in losing a clinically significant amount of weight and few maintain weight loss. Evidence suggests the residential environment can facilitate healthful eating. VA’s MOVE! is the largest health system-based weight management program in the world. The Weight and Veteran Environments Study (WAVES) will determine the extent to which specific attributes of the residential environment influence MOVE! engagement and help participants lose weight and maintain weight loss. In this analysis, we examine relationships between food store availability and MOVE! participation.
Methods
The sample is obese U.S. military veterans aged 20-64 who received VA healthcare in 2012-2013. We linked VA electronic health record data to information on grocery store, chain and non-chain supermarket, and supercenter locations and estimated cross-sectional associations between MOVE! participation and food store availability adjusting for individual and area-level demographics.
Results
Among 701,404 veterans with BMI>=30 who met selection criteria, 35,657 participated in MOVE!. Compared to non-participants, MOVE! participants were more likely to be African American (25.6% vs. 20.0%) and female (14.0% vs. 8.4%) and had higher mean BMI (37.9 vs. 35.3). In preliminary adjusted analyses, each additional chain supermarket within one mile was associated with a 2.9% increase in odds of MOVE! participation while an additional smaller grocery store was associated with a 0.2% increase and non-chain and supercenters with no increased odds of participation.
Conclusion
Availability of some food store types may influence weight management program participation.
Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciencesSocial and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Compare residential environment food store availability among obese U.S. military veterans who do and do not engage in a weight management program.
Keyword(s): Weight Management, Built Environment
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: My doctoral training was in health policy and administration, focusing on social determinants of cancer disparities. My research centers on policy and environmental influences on healthcare access, utilization and outcomes, particularly as they relate to vulnerable populations. I have extensive experience in the research use of VA data and linked VA and non-VA data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.