PMID- 15887990
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20070515
LR  - 20220321
IS  - 1445-6354 (Electronic)
IS  - 1445-6354 (Linking)
VI  - 4
IP  - 4
DP  - 2004 Oct-Dec
TI  - Food cost and availability in a rural setting in Australia.
PG  - 311
AB  - INTRODUCTION: The burden of chronic diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide. In 
      Australia rural populations have a greater burden of disease. Chronic diseases 
      are largely preventable with diet as a key risk factor. With respect to 
      diet-related chronic disease, dietary risk may be due to poor food access, 
      namely, poor availability and/or the high cost of healthy food. It is likely that 
      poor food access is an issue in rural areas. OBJECTIVE: To assess food access in 
      rural south-west (SW) Victoria, Australia. METHODS: A total of 53 supermarkets 
      and grocery stores in 42 towns participated in a survey of food cost and 
      availability in the rural area of SW Victoria. The survey assessed availability 
      and cost of a Healthy Food Access Basket (HFAB) which was designed to meet the 
      nutritional needs of a family of 6 for 2 weeks. RESULTS: Seventy-two percent of 
      the eligible shops in SW Victoria were surveyed. The study found that the 
      complete HFAB was significantly more likely to be available in a town with a 
      chain-owned store (p <0.00). The complete HFAB was less likely to be available 
      from an independently owned store in a town with only one grocery shop (p 
      <0.004). The average cost of the HFAB across SW Victoria was AU380.30 dollars +/- 
      25.10 dollars (mean +/- SD). There was a mean range in difference of cost of the 
      HFAB of 36.92 dollars. In particular, high variability was found in the cost of 
      fruits and vegetables. CONCLUSIONS: Cost and availability of healthy food may be 
      compromised in rural areas. IMPLICATIONS: Improvements in food access in rural 
      areas could reduce the high burden of disease suffered by rural communities.
FAU - Burns, C M
AU  - Burns CM
AD  - Deakin Universty, Burwood, Victoria, Australia cburns@deakin.edu.au
FAU - Gibbon, P
AU  - Gibbon P
FAU - Boak, R
AU  - Boak R
FAU - Baudinette, S
AU  - Baudinette S
FAU - Dunbar, J A
AU  - Dunbar JA
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20041104
PL  - Australia
TA  - Rural Remote Health
JT  - Rural and remote health
JID - 101174860
EDAT- 2005/05/13 09:00
MHDA- 2005/05/13 09:01
CRDT- 2005/05/13 09:00
PHST- 2005/05/13 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/05/13 09:01 [medline]
PHST- 2005/05/13 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 311 [pii]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Rural Remote Health. 2004 Oct-Dec;4(4):311. Epub 2004 Nov 4.