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Objectives: Among studies of the built environment, few examine neighbourhood food environments in relation to children's diets. We examined the associations of residential and school neighbourhood access to different types of food establishments with children's diets. Methods: Data from QUALITY (Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth), an ongoing study on the natural history of obesity in 630 Quebec youth aged 8-10 years with a parental history of obesity, were analyzed (n=512). Three 24-hour diet recalls were used to assess dietary intake of vegetables and fruit, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Questionnaires were used to determine the frequency of eating/snacking out and consumption of delivered/take-out foods. We characterized residential and school neighbourhood food environments by means of a Geographic Information System. Variables included distance to the nearest supermarket, fast-food restaurant and convenience store, and densities of each food establishment type computed for 1 km network buffers around each child's residence and school. Retail Food Environment indices were also computed. Multivariable logistic regressions (residential access) and generalized estimating equations (school access) were used for analysis. Results: Residential and school neighbourhood access to supermarkets was not associated with children's diets. Residing in neighbourhoods with lower access to fast-food restaurants and convenience stores was associated with a lower likelihood of eating and snacking out. Children attending schools in neighbourhoods with a higher number of unhealthful relative to healthful food establishments scored most poorly on dietary outcomes. Conclusions: Further investigations are needed to inform policies aimed at shaping neighbourhood-level food purchasing opportunities, particularly for access to fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. Key words: Built environment; children; diet; food environment; residential neighbourhood; school neighbourhood; QUALITY cohort Objectifs: Rares sont les etudes du milieu bati qui s'interessent aux environnements alimentaires des quartiers par rapport aux regimes alimentaires des enfants. Nous avons examine les associations entre l'acces des quartiers residentiels et scolaires a differents types d'etablissements alimentaires et les regimes des enfants. Methode: Nous avons analyse les donnees de l'etude QUALITY (QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth), une etude en cours sur l'histoire naturelle de l'obesite chez 630 jeunes Quebecois de 8 a 10 ans ayant une histoire parentale d'obesite (n=512). Trois rappels alimentaires de 24 heures ont servi a evaluer l'apport en fruits et legumes et en boissons edulcorees au sucre. A l'aide de questionnaires, nous avons determine la frequence des repas et des collations pris a l'exterieur et la consommation d'aliments livres a domicile ou a emporter. Nous avons caracterise l'environnement alimentaire des quartiers residentiels et scolaires au moyen d'un systeme d'information geographique. Les variables etaient la distance jusqu'au supermarche, au restaurant rapide et au depanneur le plus proche, et les densites de chacun de ces types d'etablissements, calculees sur un reseau tampon d'1 km autour du domicile et de l'ecole de chaque enfant. Des indices d'environnement alimentaire de detail ont aussi ete calcules. La regression logistique multivariee (acces a partir du domicile) et des equations d'estimation generalisees (acces a partir de l'ecole) ont servi a l'analyse. Resultats: L'acces des quartiers residentiels et scolaires aux supermarches n'etait pas associe aux regimes des enfants. Le fait d'habiter un quartier oU les restaurants rapides et les depanneurs sont moins accessibles etait associe a une plus faible probabilite de prendre des repas et des collations a l'exterieur. Les enfants qui frequentaient des ecoles de quartiers comptant davantage d'etablissements alimentaires malsains que d'etablissements sains ont obtenu les pires scores pour ce qui est de leur regime. Conclusions: Des enquetes plus poussees sont necessaires pour formuler des politiques qui influencent les occasions d'achat d'aliments a l'echelle des quartiers, particulierement l'acces aux restaurants rapides et aux depanneurs. Mots cles: milieu bati; enfant; regime alimentaire; environnement alimentaire; quartier residentiel; quartier scolaire; cohorte QUALITY, In recent years, the role of neighbourhoods has been increasingly investigated with respect to obesity in children. (1-3) Neighbourhood built environments may promote childhood obesity by favouring antecedent behaviours, including [...]

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In the past 10 years, interest in studying the relationship between area of residence and health has grown. During this period empirical relations between place and health have been observed at a variety of spatial scales, from census tracts to administrative units in metropolitan areas to whole regions, and for a variety of health outcomes. Despite the richness of the data, there are relatively few publications offering theoretical explanations for these observations, and a sound conception of place itself is still lacking. Using place as a relational space linked to where people live, work and play, this paper conceptualises the nature of neighbourhoods as they contribute to the local production of health inequalities in everyday life. In reference to Giddens' structuration theory, we propose that neighbourhoods essentially involve the availability of, and access to, health-relevant resources in a geographically defined area. Taking inspiration from the work of Godbout on informal reciprocity, we further propose that such availability and access are regulated according to four different sets of rules: proximity, prices, rights, and informal reciprocity. Our theoretical framework suggests that these rules give rise to five domains, the physical, economic, institutional, local sociability, and community organisation domains which cut across neighbourhood environments through which residents may acquire resources that shape their lifecourse trajectory in health and social functioning. Keywords: Neighbourhood; Resources; Environments Theoretical model; Place; Obesity