Consumer nutrition environments are defined as places in which consumers interact with the food they eat; these food choices can impact human and planetary health. Assessment measures for consumer nutrition environments are numerous, and vary widely on what, and how, they assess the food environment. The objective of this scoping review was to synthesize existing evidence on nutrition environment measurements and their capacity to assess nutrient-dense food access and food sustainability capacity. Eligibility criteria were developed to capture relevant peer-reviewed literature about auditing measures designed to assess nutrient-dense foods and food sustainability capacity in the consumer nutrition environment. A search strategy was conducted to collect articles published between January 1, 2002-June 4, 2022, using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and the Cochrane library electronic databases. After screening 2457 manuscripts, 58 met inclusion criteria. Study aims, funding source(s), types of retailers assessed, assessment format and name, constructs measured, food categories measured, assessment of validity and/or reliability, and other relevant data were extracted from each manuscript. Results showed that most measures use checklists, surveys, questionnaires or similar methods to assess availability, quality, and price of select food items as assessment constructs. Most do not assess nutrient-dense food availability, and even fewer assess food sustainability. Development of comprehensive, reliable, and valid consumer nutrition environment measures that assess nutrient-dense food availability and food sustainability is important for research, planning, evaluation and advocacy aimed at improving consumer food environments for human and planetary health.

Objectives: In this paper, we assessed interdependent associations between food-related psychosocial traits and diet quality (ie, healthy and ultra-processed food consumption) among parent-adolescent dyads. Methods: This secondary analysis used data from the Family, Life, Activity, Sun and Health (FLASHE) study, which measured diet and other health behaviors in American parent-adolescent dyads (N = 1646). Actor-Partner Interdependence Models were used to apply a dyadic extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Determination Theory constructs (motivation, attitudes and self-efficacy) in relation to healthy and ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption. Results: Parent (b = 0.46, p < .01) and adolescent motivation (b = 0.42, p < .01) had positive actor effects on healthy food consumption. Parental attitudes had a negative actor effect (b = -0.20, p < .01) and adolescent attitudes had a positive actor effect (b = 0.34, p < .01) on healthy food consumption. Parent (b = -0.18, p < .01) and adolescent motivation (b = -0.14, p < .01) had negative actor effects on UPF consumption. No significant partner effects were found. Conclusions: Food-related psychosocial traits are associated with parent and adolescent diet quality. Interventions and guidelines that aim to strengthen an individual's ability to make healthful dietary choices, particularly those focused on reducing UPF consumption, are warranted, and may benefit from drawing on behavioral theories, especially those focused on motivational traits.

Objective:To assess the clustering properties of residential urban food environment indicators across neighborhoods and to determine if clustering profiles are associated with diet outcomes among adults in Brooklyn, New York.Design:Cross-sectional.Setting:Five neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York.Participants:Survey data (n=1,493) was collected among adults in Brooklyn, New York between April 2019 and September 2019. Data for food environment indicators (fast-food restaurants, bodegas, supermarkets, farmer’s markets, community kitchens, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application centers, food pantries) was drawn from New York databases. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify individuals’ food access-related profiles, based on food environments measured by the availability of each outlet within each participant’s 800-meter buffer. Profile memberships were associated with dietary outcomes using mixed linear regression.Results:LPA identified four residential urban food environment profiles (with significant-high clusters ranging from 17-57 across profiles): Limited/low food access, (n = 587), bodega-dense (n = 140), food swamp (n = 254), and high food access (n = 512) profiles. Diet outcomes were not statistically different across identified profiles. Only participants in the limited/low food access profile were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) than those in the bodega-dense profile (b = .44, p < 0.05) in adjusted models.Conclusions:Individuals in limited and low food access neighborhoods are vulnerable to consuming significant amounts of SSBs compared to those in bodega-dense communities. Further research is warranted to elucidate strategies to improve fruit and vegetable consumption while reducing SSB intake within residential urban food environments.

Plant-based dietary patterns are associated with improved cardiometabolic health, including lower levels of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood pressure, adiposity, inflammation, and lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, some studies report modestly reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations in populations following plant-based diets (e.g., vegan or vegetarian), while other studies show null associations. This has created uncertainty about whether these changes in HDL-C reflect clinically meaningful harm or a neutral physiologic response. This review examines the significance of lower HDL-C in the context of plant-based diets and broader cardiometabolic risk. We describe plausible mechanistic pathways, including lower saturated fat and cholesterol intake, reduced apolipoprotein A-I secretion and HDL production, and formation of smaller HDL particles that are cleared more rapidly. We suggest that modest HDL-C reductions observed with healthy and appropriately planned plant-based diets should be interpreted within the broader context of net cardiometabolic benefit rather than as an isolated reason for clinical concern. However, substantial heterogeneity across studies-in both results and methodology, including variation in the definitions of plant-based diets-limits causal directionality and interpretation of reported diet-disease associations. Future analyses should improve diet classification and comparator selection, while controlling for weight change and macronutrient composition to isolate any potential effects of plant-based diets on HDL-related outcomes.