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Traditional, ‘post-traditional’ large-scale, and ‘alternative’ food shopping options are used in this paper to address the following questions: Who are the customers of these different retail formats? Is it possible to discern certain types of shopper according to retail formats? Do alternative food networks attract significantly different consumers than traditional forms and large-scale outlets? Relatively unique data collected in an omnibus survey by The Centre for Independent Public Opinion Research during 2014, 2015 and 2017 (n = 3,168) are used in this analysis. The consumption habits and preferences of a representative sample of the Czech population were subject to investigation. Results are presented mainly by descriptive statistics and the testing of hypotheses on the similarity or difference of given shopper populations by contingency analysis (associations between characteristics use contingency coefficients). A profile of shoppers according to food provisioning options is presented, and demographic, socio-economic and geographic factors influencing current trends in the shopping behaviours of Czech consumers are analysed. Significant differences between the customers of diverse retail formats and alternative possibilities to acquire food are among the most important distinguishing factors characterising Czech shoppers today.

Child overweight and obesity represent a serious health problem worldwide. The Czech Republic now ranks the fourth most obese country in Europe and obesity and overweight is becoming more and more frequent in children and teenagers. This pilot study estimates the prevalence of obesity and overweight among Czech teenagers aged 14–15 years in terms of neighbourhood characteristics, and assesses the effects of neighbourhood environmental quality versus family or personal-level factors on teenage obesity and overweight. The results show that unsafe environments result in the risk of lesser physical activity of their inhabitants, but since the vast majority (92%) of the students felt safe in their neighbourhoods, mediation through safety of the neighbourhood is not at stake. Second, the housing estates demonstrate the most severe problems with both obesity and overweight and their built environments, but when perceptions of sporting facilities and similar opportunities for physical activity are factored in, they do not have low scores; therefore, mediation by physical activity is not a relevant response to the obesity problem. These findings imply that the most important obesogenic and obesoprotective factors are likely to be found within the family environment and personal life styles.

The main research goals of the article are to explain the historical context of urban food gardens in Czechia, to describe the current spatial pattern of allotment gardens, and to introduce and analyse recent trends in urban gardening. The main method for achieving the first goal was a literature study. For the second goal, geographical mapping and analysis of data relating to the spatial distribution of allotment gardens were used. For the third goal, mapping together with analysis of semi-structured interviews carried out in community gardens in Prague were used. The analysis showed a strong tradition of urban agriculture and urban food gardening activities in Czechia. Both allotment gardens and newly emerged community gardens were concentrated mainly in the biggest cities and in areas with a rich industrial and mining tradition. This finding supports the significance of gardening as an important element of urban agriculture. However, uncertainty regarding land tenure and long-term sustainability were among the greatest obstacles for the future of allotment and community gardens. The authors' main recommendations are that urban agriculture should be included as primary land use in sustainable planning and there should be broader community involvement in planning and decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reveal the relations of risk behavior and its contextual factors, including the perception of risks that substance use may bring. Statistical analysis is based on the data from the European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) [2007.The 2007 ESPAD Report. Stockholm: The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs]. It uses individual data for the 71,287 European students and identifies key behavioral patterns typical for the perception of the risk behavior among European students and the real prevalence of this risk behavior. This study provides support for understanding of adolescent substance use through the analysis of teenagers' behavior and perception applying also a new method of sociomapping. Sociomapping enables to document the scientific facts by an easy, demonstrative manner, which is comprehensible for the students of elementary schools, where the prevention of health risk behavior is essential. The conclusion of the paper draws implications for the preventive practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Central and Eastern Europe (CE), alcohol consumption, smoking, and substance use have become a substantial problem mainly among young people as well as changes of their leisure time occupations. The paper uses the binary logistic regression to measure the association between a certain type of leisure occupations and health-risk behaviors to show which activities are the most prone to health-risk behaviors. The analysis shows one prominent result – the strong relation between health-risk behavior of teenagers and going out in the evenings in the CE countries. There are, however, some specific protective factors of teenage risk behavior; these could be used to focus anti-risk behavior campaigns aimed at teenagers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines changes in shopping behavior in two postcommunist countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, by replicating Bitgood and Dukes's study of pedestrian choice point behavior. It also extends the former study by applying the methodology to a different type of intersection and subjecting the results to a random resampling statistical test. A survey conducted via naturalistic observation in selected Czech and Slovak shopping malls is presented. Is the movement of shoppers disorganized and unplanned, or is there a tendency to use the principles of the economy of movement, which suggests that pedestrians tend to move in a way involving the least number of steps? A randomization resampling test with 100,000 samples was performed on the data obtained in shopping malls. It can be concluded that pedestrians tend to avoid unnecessary steps by economizing their trajectories (t = 11.34, p = .00013). The results, thus, show that a qualitative change occurred in the shopping behavior of Czech and Slovak shoppers (as compared with year 2002), and there is an obvious tendency to minimize the total distance in correspondence with the principles of the economy of movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]