Food Environment – Modified Retail Food Environment Index

Source Description

The Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) is a program run by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a division of the US Department of Health & Human Services. The agency utilizes a public health approach to address the role of nutrition and physical activity in improving the public’s health and preventing and controlling chronic diseases. The DNPAO published the Modified Retail Food Environmental Index (MRFEi) for each state in the US in 2011. The mRFEI is a measure of the proportion of food retailers that sell healthy foods compared to retailers that sell unhealthy foods. Scores can range from 0 (no food retailers that typically sell healthy food) to 100 (only food retailers that typically sell healthy food). Areas with lower mRFEI scores have more food retailers (like fast food restaurants and convenience stores) that are less likely to sell less healthy foods and fewer food retailers (like supermarkets) that tend to sell healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables.