Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania
Background There is limited information from rural low-income contexts about consumers’ buying behaviours of fruit and vegetables (F&V) and accessibility to F&V in the food environments, which may inform interventions to increase F&V intake. Objectives We examined how women living in rural northern...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Medrxiv
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175525 |
| _version_ | 1855537979040202752 |
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| author | Singh, Nishmeet Bliznashka, Lilia Azupogo, Fusta Marshall, Quinn Kumar, Neha Malindisa, Evangelista Jeremiah, Kidola Hess, Sonja Y. Kinabo, Joyce L. Olney, Deanna K. Jaacks, Lindsay M. Bellows, Alexandra L. |
| author_browse | Azupogo, Fusta Bellows, Alexandra L. Bliznashka, Lilia Hess, Sonja Y. Jaacks, Lindsay M. Jeremiah, Kidola Kinabo, Joyce L. Kumar, Neha Malindisa, Evangelista Marshall, Quinn Olney, Deanna K. Singh, Nishmeet |
| author_facet | Singh, Nishmeet Bliznashka, Lilia Azupogo, Fusta Marshall, Quinn Kumar, Neha Malindisa, Evangelista Jeremiah, Kidola Hess, Sonja Y. Kinabo, Joyce L. Olney, Deanna K. Jaacks, Lindsay M. Bellows, Alexandra L. |
| author_sort | Singh, Nishmeet |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Background There is limited information from rural low-income contexts about consumers’ buying behaviours of fruit and vegetables (F&V) and accessibility to F&V in the food environments, which may inform interventions to increase F&V intake.
Objectives We examined how women living in rural northern Tanzania experience the food environments by exploring buying patterns, perceptions, and accessibility of F&V, and their association with women’s F&V intake.
Methods We used cross-sectional data from 2,597 women living in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions. Self-reported experiences of the food environments for F&V included buying frequency, sources, availability, and convenience. Accessibility was measured using geospatial measures of distance and time between home and reported typical buying sources. Data from a 30-day F&V food frequency questionnaire were used to calculate two scores that captured intake frequency and variety. We conducted a descriptive analysis of women’s experience indicators and tested their associations with the scores using multivariable and Poisson regression models, controlling for covariates.
Results On average, 5% and 35% of women reported daily buying of F&V, respectively. Fruit was mostly bought from markets: F: 80%, V: 40%. Two-thirds of respondents perceived F&V as available (F: 65%, V: 60%). Median (IQR) distance and time to fruit sources was 9 km (2,19), 39 min (19,78), and to vegetable sources was 3 km (1,10), 32 min (8-69). Compared to women who reported making daily purchases of F&V, those who purchased F&V weekly or monthly reported lower frequency and diversity of F&V intake. Perceptions that F&V were less available and at a longer distance, but not time, were associated with lower frequency and variety of vegetable intake.
Conclusion Buying frequency, perceived availability, and distance to markets were associated with women’s F&V intake frequency and variety, underscoring the need to consider these and other factors in food environments to increase F&V intake. |
| format | Preprint |
| id | CGSpace175525 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Medrxiv |
| publisherStr | Medrxiv |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1755252025-12-11T21:36:19Z Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania Singh, Nishmeet Bliznashka, Lilia Azupogo, Fusta Marshall, Quinn Kumar, Neha Malindisa, Evangelista Jeremiah, Kidola Hess, Sonja Y. Kinabo, Joyce L. Olney, Deanna K. Jaacks, Lindsay M. Bellows, Alexandra L. women rural population diet food environment consumer behaviour Background There is limited information from rural low-income contexts about consumers’ buying behaviours of fruit and vegetables (F&V) and accessibility to F&V in the food environments, which may inform interventions to increase F&V intake. Objectives We examined how women living in rural northern Tanzania experience the food environments by exploring buying patterns, perceptions, and accessibility of F&V, and their association with women’s F&V intake. Methods We used cross-sectional data from 2,597 women living in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions. Self-reported experiences of the food environments for F&V included buying frequency, sources, availability, and convenience. Accessibility was measured using geospatial measures of distance and time between home and reported typical buying sources. Data from a 30-day F&V food frequency questionnaire were used to calculate two scores that captured intake frequency and variety. We conducted a descriptive analysis of women’s experience indicators and tested their associations with the scores using multivariable and Poisson regression models, controlling for covariates. Results On average, 5% and 35% of women reported daily buying of F&V, respectively. Fruit was mostly bought from markets: F: 80%, V: 40%. Two-thirds of respondents perceived F&V as available (F: 65%, V: 60%). Median (IQR) distance and time to fruit sources was 9 km (2,19), 39 min (19,78), and to vegetable sources was 3 km (1,10), 32 min (8-69). Compared to women who reported making daily purchases of F&V, those who purchased F&V weekly or monthly reported lower frequency and diversity of F&V intake. Perceptions that F&V were less available and at a longer distance, but not time, were associated with lower frequency and variety of vegetable intake. Conclusion Buying frequency, perceived availability, and distance to markets were associated with women’s F&V intake frequency and variety, underscoring the need to consider these and other factors in food environments to increase F&V intake. 2025-07-03 2025-07-07T19:10:34Z 2025-07-07T19:10:34Z Preprint https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175525 en Open Access Medrxiv Singh, Nishmeet; Bliznashka, Lilia; Azupogo, Fusta; Marshall, Quinn; Kumar, Neha; Malindisa, Evangelista; et al. 2025. Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania. MedRxiv preprint available July 3, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.01.25330643 |
| spellingShingle | women rural population diet food environment consumer behaviour Singh, Nishmeet Bliznashka, Lilia Azupogo, Fusta Marshall, Quinn Kumar, Neha Malindisa, Evangelista Jeremiah, Kidola Hess, Sonja Y. Kinabo, Joyce L. Olney, Deanna K. Jaacks, Lindsay M. Bellows, Alexandra L. Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania |
| title | Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania |
| title_full | Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania |
| title_fullStr | Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania |
| title_full_unstemmed | Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania |
| title_short | Women’s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake: Insights from Northern Tanzania |
| title_sort | women s experiences in the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetables intake insights from northern tanzania |
| topic | women rural population diet food environment consumer behaviour |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175525 |
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