Food Outlets, Urban Environments and Population Health

Diet is a critical determinant of population health, influencing the incidence of cardiovascular diabetes, Type II diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases that reduce life expectancies. To promote healthy eating, researchers have focused on how individuals' diets are associated with food environments. However, complex links between food environments and diet have led to inconsistent findings. These relationships can be affected by neighbourhood, shopping responsibility, car access, employment status and supermarket density. Untangling these complex links can help community planners and health professionals better understand how to promote healthy eating environments and healthier diets.

This webinar will:

• Discuss the health effects of having access to grocery store
• Discuss how food outlets are distributed across different populations in Canadian cities
• Discuss what decision makers can do to improve food-outlet access for all

Speaker: Lindsey Smith, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto