Influence of the food environment on obesity risk in a large cohort of US veterans by community type

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine relationships between the food environment and obesity by community type. Methods: Using electronic health record data from the US Veterans Administration Diabetes Risk (VADR) cohort, we examined associations between the percentage of supermarkets and fast-food restaurants with obesity prevalence from 2008 to 2018. We constructed multivariable logistic regression models with random effects and interaction terms for year and food environment variables. We stratified models by community type. Results: Mean age at baseline was 59.8 (SD = 16.1) years; 93.3% identified as men; and 2,102,542 (41.8%) were classified as having obesity. The association between the percentage of fast-food restaurants and obesity was positive in high-density urban areas (odds ratio [OR] = 1.033; 95% CI: 1.028–1.037), with no interaction by time (p = 0.83). The interaction with year was significant in other community types (p < 0.001), with increasing odds of obesity in each follow-up year. The associations between the percentage of supermarkets and obesity were null in high-density and low-density urban areas and positive in suburban (OR = 1.033; 95% CI: 1.027–1.039) and rural (OR = 1.007; 95% CI: 1.002–1.012) areas, with no interactions by time. Conclusions: Many healthy eating policies have been passed in urban areas; our results suggest such policies might also mitigate obesity risk in nonurban areas.