Food environments and association with household food insecurity: a systematic review

Objective

We evaluated the available literature on the association between characteristics of the food environment and household food insecurity.

Study design

Systematic review.

Methods

Studies published until January 9th, 2023, were searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE and LILACS databases. The included studies were summarized with a narrative synthesis with information on the study location, population studied, prevalence and type of measure/instrument used to assess food (in)security, method of evaluating the food environment and measure between food insecurity and food environment.

Results

Twenty-two articles were included. Different methods were used to measure food security and the food environment. Most food insecurity assessment tools assessed the dimension of access to food, more precisely economic access. The dimensions of the food environment most evaluated were food availability and affordability. An association between characteristics of the food environment and food insecurity was found in 18 of these studies. Homes with food insecurity have a greater availability of unhealthy foods, more frequent purchasing of foods in convenience stores and small markets as well as a lower availability of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Conclusions

This review revealed that household food insecurity was associated with the food environment, highlighting the importance of policies to promote healthy diets, especially in vulnerable communities. Few studies were found in the Global South, demonstrating the gap in this knowledge in these locations.