Dr Lukar Thornton1
1Deakin University, Burwood, Australia
Studies investigating associations between the presence of neighbourhood food stores and food behaviours are premised on the assumption that if a feature is available locally, people will use it. However, this assumption does not consider that many people are exposed to multiple contexts on a daily basis; that residents have a different propensity and ability to access features within their neighbourhood; and that the new age of food purchasing via digital technology reduces the need to physically interact with the environment to purchase food. This abstract will present findings from a number of ongoing projects exploring how individuals use neighbourhoods for food purchasing.
Biography:
Dr Thornton is a Senior Lecturer at Deakin University, Australia. His expertise spans the disciplines of health geography, epidemiology and public health. Dr Thornton’s current program of research predominantly explores associations between neighbourhood environments and health behaviours.