Objective: To assess the relationship between food store type and food advertising in the interior and exterior of stores. Participants/Setting: Twenty-seven retail food stores in six low-income neighborhoods in San Diego County. Methods: Community volunteers conducted field surveys using the Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Prevention (CX3) Food Availability and Marketing survey. Analysis: Crosstabulations were done comparing the proportion of food stores that display healthy and unhealthy food advertisements in the interior and exterior of stores. One-way ANOVAs and post hoc tests were done comparing the mean number of healthy and unhealthy food advertisement types in the interior and exterior of stores. Results: Surveyors assessed 6 supermarket chains, 11small markets, and 10 convenience stores. Supermarkets had significantly more types of advertisements around fruits and vegetables in their stores compared to convenience stores. Small markets had significantly more types of healthy exterior conditions in their stores compared to supermarket chains and convenience stores. Conclusions and Implications: This information can assist local health departments and community partners when working with retail food stores to improve food store quality through advertising practices. In addition, public health researchers can expand this research by studying how food advertisements in food stores influence consumer purchasing behavior.
