American journal of preventive medicine
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Neighborhood attractiveness and safety may encourage physical activity and help individuals maintain a healthy weight. However, these neighborhood characteristics may not be equally relevant to health across all settings and population subgroups. ⋯ Potentially attractive community and natural features were associated with lower BMI among adults in NYC, and there was some evidence of effect modification.
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With nearly 49,000 authorized retailers nationwide, a policy change that added fruits and vegetables (FV) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food packages in 2009 had the potential to expand neighborhood FV availability. ⋯ Expansion of WIC foods was associated with small positive externalities on the food environment. Larger subsidies to create more demand and more-substantial stocking requirements for retailers may yield significantly larger improvements and thus warrant further investigation. Approaches targeting rural, low-income, and racial/ethnic minority neighborhoods also may be needed.