Characterizing the food environment and its association with ultra-processed food intake in British Columbia, Canada
department or school: Medicine, Faculty of
department or school: Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Li, Yannan
issued: 2025-05-29T18:17:19Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Canadians have been reported to have poor dietary intake, with a high consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF), which are energy-dense foods that are typically industrially formulated and contain high levels of added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat while offering minimal nutritional value. UPF is a major contributor to chronic diseases and inversely correlated with overall diet quality. While individual-level factors influencing diet are well-documented, the role of neighborhood characteristics in shaping dietary intake remains underexplored. The retail food environment (RFE), mainly referring to where people can purchase food (e.g., supermarkets), is one such neighborhood-level factor that may affect dietary intake. This research aimed to characterize dietary intake of a contemporary cohort of British Columbians and examine the associations between features of RFE and UPF onsumption, accounting for neighbourhood level characteristics. Using data from BC Generations Project and its sub-study, with a linkage to the Canadian Food Environment Dataset (Can-FED) and Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), this research assessed dietary intake via a validated past year food frequency questionnaire and measured the RFE through absolute and relative densities of food outlets within 1-km radius of participants' residences. UPF intake was classified using the NOVA system and expressed as energy per 1,000 kcal/day. Findings showed that UPFs accounted for about 38% of the daily energy intake among 2,586 cohort participants, with nutrient profiles characterized by high saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, and insufficient fiber, calcium, and vitamin D. Living in areas with higher densities of fast-food outlets was significantly associated with greater UPF intake, after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), education, annual household income, and neighbourhood level characteristics including walkability, marginalization status, and urban sprawl. Add…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/91230
note: CHARACTERIZING THE FOOD ENVIRONMENT AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ULTRA-PROCESSED FOOD INTAKE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA by Yannan Li M.B.B.S., The Southern Medical University 2016 M.P.H., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 2018 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Population and Public Health) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2025 © Yannan Li, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Characterizing the food environment and its association with ultra-processed food intake in British Columbia, Canada submitted by Yannan Li in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Population and Public Health Examining Committee: Rachel Murphy Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Supervisor Trevor Dummer Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Tamara R Cohen Ph.D., R.D., Assistant Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Canadians have been reported to have poor dietary intake, with a high consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF), which are energy-dense foods that are typically industrially formulated and contain high levels of added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat while offering minimal nutritional value. UPF is a major contributor to chronic diseases and inversely correlated with overall diet quality. While individual-level factors influencing diet are well-documented, the role of neighborhood characteristics shaping dietary intake remains underexplored. The retail food environment (RFE), mainly referring to where people can purchase food (e.g., supermarkets), is one such neighborhood-level factor that may affect dietary intake. This research …
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0448993
language: eng
degree discipline: Population and Public Health
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Murphy, Rachel Anne
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91230