To accommodate population growth, Australian cities are becoming denser, with more Australians living in apartments. However, there is little understanding of whether this shift towards apartment living raises any potential short- and long-term implications for dietary health. Using an Australian nationally representative household survey, this cross-sectional study compared meal-purchasing frequency and fruit and vegetable intake by dwelling type, apartment block height, and number of bedrooms in the apartment. Adjusted mean differences were derived from linear regressions, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Apartment residents purchased 0.72 more meals out each week than house residents (p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.599,0.831) and consumed 0.10 fewer daily serves of vegetables (p = 0.002, 95% CI 0.038,0.163). Among apartment residents, those in high-rise blocks purchased 0.80 more meals out each week than low-rise residents (p = 0.012, 95% CI 0.250,1.348), and residents of one-bedroom or studio apartments ate 0.25 fewer serves of fruit per day than residents in apartments with at least three bedrooms (p = 0.003, 95% CI 0.038,0.163). These findings provide important evidence to inform policy and targeted interventions that promote healthy food behaviours in apartment-living populations.
Mandzufas et al. (Thu,) studied this question.