Objectives: This study examined the relationship between the proportion of milk in food stores that is low-fat and consumption of low-fat milk in the community.
Methods: Data were gathered from 503 stores across 53 New York State zip codes. In 19 zip codes, a telephone survey measured household low-fat milk use. Census data were obtained to examine sociodemographic predictors of the percentage of low-fat milk in stores.
Results: The proportion of low-fat milk in stores was directly related to low-fat milk consumption in households and to the median income and urban level of the zip code.
Conclusions: These results support using food store shelf-space observations to estimate low-fat milk consumption.