Caspi, CaitlinKawachi, IchiroSubramanian, S. V.Adamkiewicz, GarySorensen, Glorian2019-08-302012Caspi, Caitlin E., Ichiro Kawachi, S.V. Subramanian, Gary Adamkiewicz, and Glorian Sorensen. 2012. “The Relationship between Diet and Perceived and Objective Access to Supermarkets among Low-Income Housing Residents.” Social Science & Medicine 75 (7): 1254–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.014.0277-95361873-5347http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41288286In the U.S., supermarkets serve as an important source of year-round produce (Chung & Myers, 1999), and yet access to supermarkets may be scarce in "food deserts," or poor, urban areas that lack sources of healthy, affordable food (Cummins & Macintyre, 2002). This study examined objective distance to the nearest supermarket and participant-report of supermarket access in relation to fruit and vegetable intake. Street-network distance to the closest supermarket was calculated using GIS mapping. Perceived access was assessed by a survey question asking whether participants had a supermarket within walking distance of home. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 828 low-income housing residents in three urban areas in greater-Boston. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the association between perceived and objective supermarket access and diet. Fruit and vegetable consumption was low (2.63 servings/day). Results suggest that most low-income housing residents in greater-Boston do not live in "food deserts," as the average distance to a supermarket was 0.76 km (range 0.13-1.22 km). Distance to a supermarket was not associated with fruit and vegetable intake (p = 0.22). Perceived supermarket access was strongly associated with increased fruit and vegetable intake (0.5 servings/day) after controlling for socio-demographic covariates (p < 0.0001). Patterns of mismatch between perceived and objective measures revealed that mismatch between the two measures were high (31.45%). Those who did not report a supermarket within walking distance from home despite the objective presence of a supermarket within 1 km consumed significantly fewer fruits and vegetables (0.56 servings/day) than those with a supermarket who reported one, even after controlling for socio-demographic variables (p = 0.0008). Perceived measures of the food environment may be more strongly related to dietary behaviors than objective ones, and may incorporate components of food access not captured in objective measures.en-USJournal Article2019-08-3010.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.014