Caloric Contribution of Snack Purchases from Street Vendors to the Diets of Elementary School Children in a Low-Income, Urban, Latino Neighborhood

Research Article

Austin J Nutr Metab. 2014;1(1): 5.

Caloric Contribution of Snack Purchases from Street Vendors to the Diets of Elementary School Children in a Low-Income, Urban, Latino Neighborhood

Kathryn Hillstrom*, Kelly Graves, Shirley Wu, Brittany Gurney, Denise Takehara, Isabel Beas, Janeth Torres Carranza, Ashley Genz-Sandoval, Johnny Zegarra and Cheri Trapp

Department of Nutritional Science, California State University, USA

*Corresponding author: Kathryn Hillstrom, Department of Nutritional Science, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA

Received: September 22, 2014; Accepted: October 16, 2014; Published: October 18, 2014

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify the number of street vendors around schools and to measure the snacks purchased, snacking habits, and the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the children purchasing snacks from street vendors in one urban, Latino neighborhood.

Methods: Participants were: 78 boys, 64 girls, and 1 unknown from 5–12 years of age (M=8.12 ± 2.52) whose Latino parents/guardians completed a 24 question survey about their snack purchasing habits.

Results: There were 64 vendors at the 17 schools surveyed (average 3.76 vendors:1 school).Shaved ice and ice cream were purchased most often (54.7% of the time), followed by chips (19.3%) and fried foods (8.7%). An average of $1.03 +/- 0.52 was spent. Individual snack purchases ranged from 46-1790 kcal, with an average of 367.43 +/- 197.96. There was no significant difference in the calories purchased by boys or girls (p>0.05). An estimated 39% of the children were overweight (12.4%) or obese (26.9%) and there was no significant relationship in BMI weight categories by gender (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Snacks purchased from street vendors were calorie dense and nutrient poor. Street vendors, who are a significant part of many communities, could be valuable partners to increase the sale of healthy, affordable snacks to children after school.

Keywords: Street vendors; Children; Snacks; Latinos

Introduction

Within the last three decades, obesity rates in the United States have skyrocketed and are recognized as one of the nation’s leading public health concerns [1]. In 2009-2010, an estimated 16.9% of children and adolescents in the United States were obese; among Hispanic children and adolescents, the rate was significantly higher at 24.3% [2]. These 12.5 million children and adolescents are at increased risk for metabolic issues, asthma, dental problems, and psychosocial problems [3]. Obesity in children often persists into adulthood [4].

A likely contributor to the epidemic is the obesogenic environment, whereby the environment itself contributes to the likelihood of an individual becoming obese [5]. The role of the food environment in personal health and healthy eating behaviors can be explained through social cognitive theory [6]. A key component of the theory is reciprocal determinism which occurs when a person’s environment interacts with personal beliefs to influence individual action. According to this model, food environments that are lacking in affordable and nutritious foods while abundant in high energy dense and nutrient poor foods may influence personal behavior and decision making. These residents purchase the available unhealthy choices for a variety of reasons including tradition, taste, convenience, and affordability, and this in turn, encourages and promotes their availability. Residents in urban areas have easy access to a wide variety of energy-dense foods relative to healthy options, producing a food environment that is conducive to the promotion of childhood obesity. People in these neighborhoods are said to be “swamped” with unhealthy options [7].

The food environment surrounding schools may be contributing to unhealthy food choices, especially when it comes to snacking. Snacking currently contributes to roughly 27% of a child’s daily caloricin take with desserts, sweetened beverages, candy, and salty snacks being selected most frequently [8]. Low-income 4th-6th graders purchasing snacks from corner markets within walking distance of their schools most often purchase energy dense foods such as chips, candy, and sugar-sweetened beverages, and averaged roughly 356 calories per transaction [9]. In one surveyed low-income, Latino neighborhood, there was a high prevalence of fast food establishments in close proximity to schools, poor availability of fresh, high quality fruits and vegetables in stores near schools, and little accessibility or use of local parks. In another study, low-income Latinos students were asked about their after-school snacking purchases, and they reported purchasing chips most frequently, followed by ice cream and candy; 41% said they buy two items per transaction, and 20% reported purchasing three items [11].Vendors have rarely been studied but one study noted that their role is important to consider in the after-school food environment [12].

Urban areas have all of the challenges of a “food swamp” community but in many Latino neighborhoods there is the added presence of street or mobile vending. The role of food vendors within the food landscape needs to be understood as part of the overall cultural and economic environment of the Hispanic/Latino community [13]. Street vending within low-income areasis a known informal economy that exists when food and other goods are lacking or are more expensive [14]. There is a strict licensing process to legally sell goods as a street vendor in Los Angeles [15]. Because of the cost and other barriers to be legally licensed, Los Angeles County is believed to have an estimated 15,000 illegal street vendors [13]. Further, it is illegal in the City of Los Angeles to sell within 500 feet around the property of any school before, during, and after school [16]. In many neighborhoods, this is rarely enforced by school officials or police officers likely due to the excessive number of street vendors compared to the minimal number of enforcement staff [15].

While vendors may provide quick and convenient food items, especially in neighborhoods where walking is a common form of transportation, the number of street vendors surrounding schools and the caloric contribution of what they sell has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to quantify the caloric contribution of purchases from street vendors on the diets of elementary school children in a low-income, urban, Latino neighborhood. The research aims of this study were to determine: 1) the number of vendors found around the schools surveyed; 2) the type, cost and caloric value of snacks purchased for the children; 3) the snack purchasing behaviors of the parents/guardians for their children and; 4) the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the children.

Methods

Determination of survey sites

Eligibility criteria for schools were all kindergarten through eighth grade schools, both public and private, within a selected zip code in East Los Angeles or within one block beyond the border of the zip code. Within a two weeks time period in April, 2013, each of the 24 schools was visited during after-school hours and street vendors within a 1-2 block radius of the school were counted. The schools with the highest student enrollment and the highest vendor to student ratio were prioritized for inclusion in the survey. Schools with no vendors in the vicinity were not included further in the survey. Of the17 schools included in the study, 13 were public and 4 were private, which account for roughly 8502 elementary students in this East Los Angeles neighborhood. The public schools (n=7736) had a high percentages of Latino students, ranging from 96.8-100% of the total number of enrolled students [17]. The students attending these schools were mostly low-income as evidenced by the high percentages of students eligible for free or reduced cost lunches; eligibility ranged from 91.7-97.4% of students [17]. No data were available for the 776 students attending the private elementary schools other than total enrollment, which was obtained through phone calls to the schools.

Participants

The study was approved by the California State University, Los Angeles Institutional Review Board. Participants for this study were the 5-12 year old children from the selected schools whose parents/ guardians had just purchased a snack from a street vendor outside of their school. Verbal consent was obtained as this was an anonymous intercept study and no identifying information was collected.

Data collection

The second step, the intercept surveys of parents/guardians, was conducted at 13 schools, 11 public and 2 private, during the months of May and June, 2013. The data collection team went out in groups of 2-5 and collected data from the parents/guardians purchasing food from vendors around 13 of the17 schools who had at least one vendor present after the initial count.

A total of 143 surveys were administered in either English or Spanish, depending on the language of choice of the parent/guardian. The survey began immediately after the purchase was made and lasted approximately 5-10 minutes. The survey team began by establishing eligibility, which included being the parent/guardian of the child and being over 18 years of age. Next, the parent/guardian was asked what they had purchased for themselves and their child. Data collectors asked to see the purchases and recorded the size and cost of each item. Questions were asked about the snacking habits of the child, including frequency of snack purchases and reasons for the purchases. The height and weight of the children were collected. If the height of the child was unknown, team members used a portable tape to measure the height. Demographic information about the adult was collected at the end of the survey, including: birth place, number of years in the U.S, educational level, family income, and ethnicity. Parents/ guardians were given a portable hand sanitizer and a tape measure as a gratuity for participating.

Calculation of the caloric content of the snacks

The calories for each snack item purchased were recorded or calculated. The nutritional labels when available were utilized to record the calories of the samples. If a food did not have a nutrition label but was manufactured, the manufacturer website was used to determine the calories listed. Those foods which did not have a food label included: fresh fruit (n=9), corn (n=3), all fried foods (n=14), pizza (n=2) and some ice cream(23 out of 32 samples). Calories of the unlabeled food products were estimated based on typical sizes as determined by Diet Analysis (Version 9.0, Wadsworth Cengage). The most popular snack purchased (n=56), and one which did not have nutrition information available, was shaved ice, also called a raspado. Raspados are made by shaving ice, putting it in plastic bags or cups, and then pouring over it either a commercialor home-made syrup using blended fresh fruit or vanilla flavoring combined with sugar. To determine the calories, five samples of different types of raspados were purchased, weighed, and their recipes were analyzed. Ice samples were weighed prior to and after the addition of syrup. Four of the syrups used by the vendors had nutrition fact labels. One sample was homemade, and after the recipe was given by the vendor, Diet Analysis was used to calculate the total calories for that sample. The five samples were averaged. Due to time and cost limitations, and less variability in snack types, the other home-made samples were not analyzed.

Statistical analysis

A t-test for two independent samples was conducted to see whether there was a difference between calories consumed from snacks purchased between boys and girls. The effect of gender on BMI was tested using a chi-square test. Both tests were run using SAS 9.3 (SAS, Cary, USA) software. A significance level (α) of 0.05 was used for the comparisons.

Results

Research was conducted initially around24 elementary schools, 16 public and 8 private elementary schools. Seven schools had zero vendors, 4 of those being private and 3 being public schools. A total of 64 vendors were present after school around 17 campuses, with the number of vendors ranging from 1-7, with an average of 3.76vendors/ campus. The highest ratio of vendors to students was 1:33, the lowest was 1:464, and the average was 1:133.

Participant characteristics

Data were collected from the parents/guardians of a total of 143 Latino students; 78 were boys, 63 were girls, and 1not recorded. The average age was 8.1+/- 2.52 years. The BMI-for-age of the children along with their calculated weight status category is as follows: underweight (18 or 16.7%), normal weight (48 or 45.4%), overweight (13 or 12.4%), and obese (29 or 26.9%) [18].See Table 1 for detailed information about BMI. The analysis of the results showed that there was no significant difference between gender and BMI categories (p>0.05). Although the race/ethnicity of the children was not collected, when the parents/guardians were asked about their origin, all reported being Latinoor of Hispanic origin.