United States counties with food desert or food swamp environments have higher obesity-related cancer mortality.
Obesity-related cancers comprise 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States annually. A healthy diet is a modifiable factor that reduces obesity-related cancer incidence and mortality. Residing in a food desert or food swamp is a major barrier to a healthy food lifestyle. Food deserts are regions where people live more than 1.6 kilometers from a supermarket and lack healthy food options. Food swamps are communities more than 1.6 km from supermarkets, but additionally, they have more unhealthy food options (e.g., corner stores and fast-food restaurants) than healthy ones. A study published in JAMA Oncology examined the association of food deserts and food swamps with obesity-related cancer mortality in the US.
Study Population
Of the 3142 total US counties, 3038 were analyzed, of which 758 (25%) had high obesity-related cancer mortality. These particular counties had a higher percentage of non-Hispanic Black residents, a higher percentage of people older than 65 years, higher poverty rates, higher adult diabetes rates, higher adult obesity rates, and a higher percentage of people residing in food deserts and food swamps compared with counties with low obesity-related cancer mortality.
Food Deserts and Food Swamps Linked to Obesity-Related Cancer Mortality
The correlation analysis revealed that food desert and food swamp scores were positively correlated with obesity-related cancer mortality. The correlation was slightly higher between food deserts and obesity-related cancer mortality (food deserts, ρ = 0.12; food swamps, ρ = 0.08).
Age-Adjusted Obesity-Related Cancer Mortality
The odds of age-adjusted obesity-related cancer mortality were elevated (77%) among counties with high food desert scores (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–1.94) and high food swamp scores (AOR 1.77, 95% CI 1.43–2.19) compared with low food environment measures. Additionally, a positive dose-response relationship was observed between tertiles of the food environment measures and obesity-related cancer mortality, including greater than two-fold increased odds of high obesity-related cancer mortality in counties with high food swamp scores (AOR 2.10, 95% CI 1.67–2.63) than those with low food swamp scores.
Obesity-Related Cancer Mortality Adjusted for Age, Race, and Poverty Rate
Almost 30% increased odds of high obesity-related cancer mortality were observed in counties with high food swamp scores (AOR 1.29, 95% CI 1.03-1.63) after adjusting for age, race, and poverty rate.
In conclusion, the study demonstrated that counties with food desert or food swamp environments had significantly greater odds of obesity-related cancer mortality. Policymakers, community stakeholders, and funding agencies should implement approaches for tackling obesity and cancer and establishing access to healthy food.
Source:
Bevel, M. S., Tsai, M., Parham, A., Andrzejak, S. E., Jones, S., & Moore, J. X. (2023). Association of Food Deserts and Food Swamps With Obesity-Related Cancer Mortality in the US. JAMA Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.0634
