Neighbourhood SES and food environment? Characteristics and body mass index of children in the metropolitan Perth region

[Truncated abstract] Food available within the local community can affect eating habits and thus influence weight status of many people in the community. Hence, the neighbourhood food environment (NFE), is believed to be one of the important causes for the current global trend in obesity. However, empirical evidence on the relative contribution of the NFE on the development of overweight or obesity still remains unclear. One possible explanation for this lack of understanding is due to limitations in defining the NFE since very few studies have attempted to estimate the overall quantity and quality of the food available within a pre-defined spatial unit or neighbourhood. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to develop an alternative approach in measuring the neighbourhood food environment by integrating the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Delphi survey. The food-type-specific NFE was examined with the neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) and the prevalence of overweight or obesity in primary school children in Perth metropolitan region...