Men's eating habits are associated with availability of healthy food outlets around their home, but women's are not, a new study claims to reveal.
Researcher Christelle Clary at the University of Montreal in Canada explained that her study team found that, for men only, intake of fruit and vegetables was positively associated with the proportion of healthy food outlets near to their home.
Her fellow researcher, Yan Kestens, suggested that this may be because women, who the team claims are in general more nutritionally knowledgeable, may engage in different food shopping strategies than men, and rely on other aspects of the food environment than the proportion of food stores locally available.
However, why men's fruit and vegetable consumption is related to the proportion of healthy outlets remains unclear, the research team said.
Among the potential explanations for these findings, Kestens said, is that neighbourhoods where healthy or unhealthy food sources are bountiful may reflect social norms regarding food consumption in that area, encouraging individuals to conform to the social norm.
The research team believes that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms linking food environments and diet.
