Increasing obesity rates and associated poor diets are a major concern in the U.S. The USDA recommends that Americans increase fruit and vegetable intake. This study examines produce availability in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Results indicate that competition, store type, and income may be...

This paper analyzes the effect of access to different types of food outlets on households’ food insecurity levels. Two years (2004 and 2005) of Current Population Survey – Food Security Supplement data are matched with MSA-level data on store counts of Wal-Mart Supercenters, small food...

Extract: In 1948, the brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht opened the grocery store ‘Albrecht Discounts’ (Aldi) in Essen (Ruhr Valley), Germany. The store had a simple layout and offered a restricted number of products at a low price. The company grew rapidly, owning 13 stores in 1950 and about...

Nutrition labels can potentially benefit consumers by increasing product knowledge and reducing search costs. However, the global increase in obesity rates leads one to question the effectiveness of current nutrition information formats. Alternative formats for providing nutrition information...

We conduct an experiment with grocery store shoppers using an onsite survey to examine the effectiveness of nutrition labels provided on grocery store shelves. We measure effectiveness of the nutrition labels in terms of how well the labels attract attention and if they affect shopper behavior....

Recent studies examine the impact of the built environment on health outcomes such as obesity. Several studies find for certain populations that access to unhealthy food has a positive effect on obesity, whereas access to healthy choices has a negative effect. Given the growth and popularity of...