The Association of Food Shopping Frequency with Overall and Central Obesity Indicators: An Observational Study in a Public Health Setting from NHANES 2009-2010

Background and objectives: Food shopping frequency (FSF) has emerged as a key consumer behavior linked to health outcomes. We assessed the association between FSF and both overall and central obesity using multiethnic data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed 4747 non-pregnant adults (aged ≥18) from the NHANES 2009–2010 cycle. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2; central obesity as waist circumference ≥102 cm (men) and ≥88 cm (women). FSF, reported by one adult on behalf of the household, was categorized into four groups from >1 time/week (reference) to ≤1 time/month. Multivariable survey-weighted regression models adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, food-access, and lifestyle covariates were used. Results: Obesity prevalence significantly increased from the most to least frequent FSF category (29.1% to 42.5%; p < 0.001), as did central obesity (46.1% to 61.4%; p = 0.002). After full adjustment, each one-step decrease in FSF was independently associated with 16% higher odds of obesity (OR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.03–1.29; p-trend = 0.015) and 21% higher odds of central obesity (OR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.11–1.33; p-trend < 0.001). Conclusions: A lower FSF is independently associated with higher odds of overall and central obesity. If confirmed longitudinally, the effect of educational approaches promoting more frequent major food shopping on adiposity could be tested in intervention studies.