Observational studyBMC public health2021
Associations between supermarket availability and body size in Australia: a cross-sectional observational study comparing state and territory capital cities.
Observational study in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Strategies associated with improved healthiness of consumer purchasing in supermarket interventions: a systematic overview of reviews and evaluation of primary articles.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- How do supermarkets shape the experience of vulnerable people in Australia's food system? A scoping review.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Article
- Growing Inequities in Median Age of Death and Obesity Prevalence Between Australian Major Cities and Remote Areas: A National, Longitudinal, Spatial Analysis.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Fixing the food environment: beyond weight-loss drugs.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Measurement tools to assess the obesogenic environment in neighborhood: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- How do urban block built environments affect older adults' walking activities and health effects: a case study in Nanjing, China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and body size in Australia's capital cities: The contribution of obesogenic environments.PloS one · 2023Article
- Commuting to work post-pandemic: Opportunities for health?Journal of transport & health · 2022Article
- Barriers and Enablers for Healthy Food Systems and Environments: The Role of Local Governments.Current nutrition reports · 2022Review
- Prioritizing Built Environmental Factors to Tackle Chronic and Infectious Diseases in Remote Northern Territory (NT) Communities of Australia: A Concept Mapping Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResidential environment features such as availability of supermarkets may shape dietary behaviour and thus overweight and obesity. This relationship may not be consistent between cities. This Australian national-level study examined: 1) the relationship between supermarket availability and body size; and 2) whether this relationship varied by capital city.
methodsThis study used 2017-18 Australian National Health Survey data including individual-level socio-demographic information (age, sex, country of birth, education, occupation, household income), and measured body size (height and weight to derive body mass index [BMI], and waist circumference [WC]). Objectively-expressed measures of residential environments included: counts of supermarkets (major chain outlets), counts of amenities (representing walkable destinations including essential services, recreation, and entertainment), and area of public open space - each expressed within road-network buffers at 1000 m and 1500 m; population density (1km
resultsBody size (BMI and WC) and supermarket availability varied between cities. Initial inverse associations between supermarket availability and body size (BMI and WC) were attenuated to null with inclusion of all covariates, except for BMI in the 1000 m buffer model (beta = - 0.148, 95%CI -0.27, - 0.01, p = 0.025). In stratified analyses, the strengths of associations varied between cities, remaining statistically significant only for some cities (BMI: Melbourne, Brisbane Hobart; WC: Brisbane, Hobart) in fully adjusted models. Different patterns of attenuation of associations with inclusion of covariates were evident for different cities.
conclusionsFor Australian capital cities, greater availability of supermarkets is associated with healthful body size. Marked between-city variations in body size, supermarket availability, and relationships between supermarket availability and body size do not, however, support universal, "one-size-fits-all" solutions to change built environments to support healthful body size.
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