LOS ANGELES, June 2 (UPI) -- Where people live may influence their food choices as much or more than where they themselves shop, according to a U.S. study.
Lead author Dr. Sanae Inagami of the Rand Corporation in Los Angeles examined census figures from 2000 and linked them to 2,144 Los Angeles County residents who were surveyed about their eating and health habits from 2000 to 2002.
"My feeling is that your neighbors do influence your health," Inagami said. "Who you know and where you go shopping is related to your level of obesity."
Residents who lived in poor neighborhoods and shopped in even poorer neighborhoods were more overweight than those who shopped in grocery stores in wealthier areas, according to Inagami.
The shopping habits of neighbors were also an important factor; for example, a 5-foot, 5-inch person who lived in a poor neighborhood whose neighbors shopped in a wealthier area would weigh an average 9.2 pounds less than if he or she lived in a poor neighborhood whose residents shopped in a poorer area.
The findings are presented in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
