How you live depends on where you live

Your postal code in Canada may affect your ability to make healthy choices: study

TORONTO — Where a person lives in Canada may affect her ability to make healthy choices due to a significant difference in environmental factors such the price and availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in her community, a new study suggests.

The study led by McMaster University looked at 2,074 communities in 10 provinces to identify a standard set of elements that could affect residents’ ability to practise a healthy lifestyle in effort to mitigate the risk of developing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or certain cancers.

The researchers have listed those factors on an interactive online map based on postal codes, which will allow individuals to check the status of their own community.

“We found there are significant differences in environmental factors that may contribute to health, and that these differed between urban and rural communities, as well as when we compared eastern with western, and northern with southern communities,” said author Russell de Souza, an assistant professor in McMaster's department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact.

“We believe that this information shows there are factors outside of a person’s control that influence the individual’s health, and these factors likely differ depending on where they live,” said de Souza, noting that the study did not include communities in Canada’s three northern territories due to geographical limitations for the research team.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Cities and Health, was based on data collected by on-the-ground auditors who assessed access to fresh produce in grocery stores, the availability and prices of cigarettes and alcohol, the promotion of healthy foods in restaurants, and access to public transit for each community between 2014 and 2016. Almost 84 per cent of those communities were urban.

“The goal was to profile communities across the country to see if there were differences in environmental factors that we think may influence disease risk,” de Souza said Monday.

“For example, if we tell people to go and eat five to 10 fruits and vegetables a day, we wanted to know whether or not it was easy for people to access those fruits and vegetables in all communities across Canada, and whether or not there may be differences in the prices.” Among the findings:

— There is generally lower access to fresh produce in rural grocery stores compared to urban, with the former marked by less variety, seasonal availability and higher prices.

— There tend to be fewer healthy meal options in restaurants based in rural communities than in city eateries.

— In-store advertising for sugar-sweetened drinks and junk food are more frequent in both rural and urban stores than for healthier food choices.

— Cigarette prices are lower and the variety of brands is greater in urban outlets than in rural tobacco stores; alcohol prices are lowest in Quebec.

Many previous studies have looked at geography-related determinants of health, including whether people living in neighbourhoods with fresh produce sold in stores within walking or cycling distance have a better overall health status than those where a vehicle is needed, or whether easier access to fast-food has a negative effect on a local population’s health.

FIND YOUR POSTAL CODE: cvcdcontextual.mcmaster.ca