Comparison of public opinions of policy, systems and environmental change policies/practices among respondents by community economic hardship status, the Los Angeles County Food and Nutrition Field Survey, 2013*
| Characteristics | Weighted prevalence | p Value¶ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full sample | ‘Low economic hardship’† | ‘Intermediate economic hardship’‡ | ‘High economic hardship’§ | |||
| % (n) | % (n) | % (n) | % (n) | |||
| 100 (1007) | 26.6 (198) | 46.1 (320) | 27.3 (489) | |||
| Incentivising/promotional policies and practices | Respondent support of policies/practices that seek to: | |||||
| Attract more supermarkets selling fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income neighbourhoods | <0.05**,†† | |||||
| Favours strongly | 76.8 (776) | 74.9 (150) | 73.5 (229) | 84.0 (397) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 23.2 (216) | 25.1 (47) | 26.5 (83) | 16.0 (86) | ||
| Attract more farmers markets and produce stands selling fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income neighbourhoods | – | |||||
| Favours strongly | 78.6 (777) | 78.1 (153) | 76.2 (235) | 83.0 (389) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 21.4 (217) | 21.9 (42) | 23.8 (77) | 17.0 (98) | ||
| Increase the availability of fresh drinking water at local parks, schools and other public areas | <0.05**,‡‡ | |||||
| Favours strongly | 79.6 (804) | 72.6 (139) | 81.0 (255) | 84.0 (410) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 20.4 (184) | 27.5 (51) | 19.0 (60) | 16.0 (73) | ||
| Provide local grocery and convenience stores with tax credits and other incentives to encourage sale of healthy foods and to reduce the number of unhealthy foods and snacks sold | <0.01**,†† | |||||
| Favour strongly | 60.1 (620) | 54.5 (103) | 57.7 (184) | 69.4 (333) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 39.9 (368) | 45.6 (88) | 42.3 (132) | 30.6 (148) | ||
| Limiting/restrictive policies and practices | Respondent support of policies/practices that seek to: | |||||
| Limit the container sizes in which sodas and other sugary drinks can be sold in restaurants, snack bars, movie theatres and sports arenas to no more than 16 ounces | <0.05**,†† | |||||
| Favours strongly | 42.9 (439) | 37.2 (72) | 41.2 (127) | 51.2 (240) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 57.1 (537) | 62.8 (116) | 58.8 (185) | 48.9 (236) | ||
| Prohibit supermarkets from selling unhealthy food items, like candy products, in their check-out aisles | – | |||||
| Favours strongly | 29.3 (291) | 26.1 (49) | 29.5 (88) | 31.9 (154) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 70.7 (668) | 73.9 (133) | 70.5 (217) | 68.1 (318) | ||
| Limit the number of fast food restaurants that a community can have | – | |||||
| Favours strongly | 37.8 (404) | 34.9 (67) | 36.0 (111) | 43.5 (226) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 62.3 (564) | 65.1 (120) | 64.0 (195) | 56.6 (249) | ||
| Strengthen school nutrition standards to limit the types of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks sold in the schools | – | |||||
| Favours strongly | 73.8 (729) | 77.1 (151) | 72.9 (230) | 72.2 (348) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 26.2 (267) | 23.0 (45) | 27.1 (87) | 27.8 (135) | ||
| Reduce access to unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks in vending machines in public buildings and work sites | <0.05**,†† | |||||
| Favour strongly | 44.6 (457) | 40.2 (79) | 42.7 (132) | 51.9 (246) | ||
| Does not favour strongly | 55.4 (531) | 59.8 (113) | 57.3 (57.3) | 48.1 (235) | ||
| Changing business practices | Respondent support of policies/practices that seek to: | |||||
| Encourage food and beverage companies to change the ingredients in their products to reduce their calories? | <0.001**,††,‡‡ | |||||
| Not very important | 60.8 (634) | 49.4 (96) | 59.5 (186) | 73.9 (352) | ||
| Not very important | 39.2 (347) | 50.6 (94) | 40.5 (126) | 26.1 (127) | ||
| Encourage food and beverage companies to change the ingredients in their products to reduce their sodium or salt content? | <0.001**,††,‡‡ | |||||
| Not very important | 71.5 (725) | 61.5 (123) | 72.2 (226) | 80.1 (376) | ||
| Somewhat important | 28.5 (271) | 38.5 (72) | 27.8 (89) | 19.9 (110) | ||
| Encourage food and beverage companies to stop advertising unhealthy products, like fast food and sodas, on TV shows that kids watch frequently? | – | |||||
| Not very important | 62.0 (617) | 58.0 (116) | 61.9 (193) | 65.9 (308) | ||
| Somewhat important | 38.1 (374) | 42.0 (79) | 38.1 (119) | 34.1 (176) | ||
Number of cases and percentage may not add up to the total or 100%, respectively, due to rounding and missing information. Reported n's are unweighted.
*‘Economic hardship’ rankings based on internally developed Los Angeles County Department of Public Health economic hardship index for selected places (more than 10 000 persons) and Los Angeles City Council Districts, 2008–2012.
†Includes the top 1/3 of communities ranking with the lowest economic hardship in Los Angeles County.
‡Includes the middle 1/3 of communities ranking with the lowest economic hardship in Los Angeles County.
§Includes the bottom 1/3 of communities ranking with the lowest economic hardship in Los Angeles County.
¶χ2 differences observed between the three economic hardship groups: ‘low economic hardship’, ‘intermediate economic hardship’ and ‘high economic hardship’.
**χ2 differences observed between ‘low economic hardship’ and ‘high economic hardship’ groups (p<0.05).
††χ2 differences observed between ‘intermediate economic hardship’ and ‘high economic hardship’ (p<0.05).
‡‡χ2 differences observed between ‘low economic hardship’ and ‘intermediate economic hardship’ (p<0.05).