Food retail environments around rural Victorian primary Schools: Associations with student diet and weight outcomes

Few studies examine the influence on population diets of the healthiness of food retail outlets in the areas surrounding rural schools in Australia. This exploratory cross-sectional study examined associations between food retail environments within 500m and 1 km of 106 primary schools in rural Victoria, Australia, and self-reported diet and measured weight status of grade 4(9-10yo) and grade 6(12-13yo) students (n = 3236). Few significant results were found with a 500m network buffer. At 1 km, there were reduced odds of meeting sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) recommendations with more unhealthy (OR: 0.51, 95 %CI 0.26, 0.98) or takeaway outlets (OR: 0.58, 95 % CI 0.37, 0.89), compared to none of these outlets. Compared to having no supermarkets, the presence of more supermarkets was associated with higher odds of meeting unhealthy snack recommendations (OR: 2.19 95 %CI 1.28, 3.76), SSB recommendations (OR: 1.96 95 % CI 1.23, 3.13) and reduced odds of having overweight or obesity (OR: 0.75 95 %CI 0.57, 0.99). Further investigation into the impact of the food outlet placement on children's dietary behaviours is warranted, in order to inform policy regarding the placement of outlets in proximity of schools.