To quantitatively analyse expenditure on all fresh foods, fruits and vegetables (F&V) and fish across urban and rural households in Scotland. Fresh foods were chosen since, in general, they are perceived to contribute more to health than processed foods.

Descriptive analysis of purchase data of all foods brought into the home during 2012 from the Kantar Worldpanel database. Purchase data were restricted to fresh, unprocessed and raw foods or ‘fresh to frozen’ foods where freezing was part of harvesting. Total household purchases were adjusted for household size and composition.

Scotland.

Households (n 2576).

Rural households reported the highest expenditure per person on fresh foods and F&V, but also bought the most (kilograms) of these items. There were linear trends of average prices paid with urban–rural location (P<0·001), with average prices paid by large urban and remote rural households being £2·14/kg and £2·04/kg for fresh foods, £1·64/kg and £1·60/kg for F&V and £10·07/kg and £10·20/kg for fish, respectively, although differences were quantitatively small.

Contrary to previous studies, purchase data show that access to and average prices of fresh foods generally, and F&V and fish specifically, are broadly similar between urban and rural areas. Therefore, the higher expenditure on these foods in rural v. urban areas is probably due to factors other than pricing and availability.

To assess the relationship between adolescent perception of time to walk to neighbourhood food retail outlets and purchasing of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), fast and convenience food items, and to test for differences by urban v. suburban environment.

Cross-sectional observational study.

Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, USA.

Adolescents from two studies completed survey-based measures on perceptions of time to walk to food retail outlets from home, purchasing patterns of SSB and fast and convenience store items, perceptions of personal safety and pedestrian infrastructure, and demographic characteristics. Descriptive analysis, Spearman correlations and multivariate linear regression, accounting for clustering, were conducted.

There were 634 adolescents, approximately half male, predominantly white, with a middle-class background. Greater perceived time to food outlets was associated with less frequent purchasing of SSB, convenience store foods and fast-food items. Multivariate models showed that a perceived shorter walking time (i.e. 1−5 v. 31+ min) was significantly associated with more SSB purchasing. SSB purchases were also significantly associated with the number of food outlets within a 10 min walk (B = 0·05, P = 0·02).

A reduction in consumption of SSB and other energy-dense snacks is an important obesity prevention approach. An approach offering alternatives or reducing exposure in addition to education to alter purchasing habits may contribute to improving dietary habits and reducing the obesity epidemic.