Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
To accommodate population growth, Australian cities are becoming denser, with more Australians living in apartments. However, there is little understanding of whether this shift towards apartment living raises any potential short- and long-term implications for dietary health. Using an Australian nationally representative household survey, this cross-sectional study compared meal-purchasing frequency and fruit and vegetable intake by dwelling type, apartment block height, and number of bedrooms in the apartment. Adjusted mean differences were derived from linear regressions, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Apartment residents purchased 0.72 more meals out each week than house residents (p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.599,0.831]) and consumed 0.10 fewer daily serves of vegetables (p = 0.002, 95% CI [0.038,0.163]). Among apartment residents, those in high-rise blocks purchased 0.80 more meals out each week than low-rise residents (p = 0.012, 95% CI [0.250,1.348]), and residents of one-bedroom or studio apartments ate 0.25 fewer serves of fruit per day than residents in apartments with at least three bedrooms (p = 0.003, 95% CI [0.038,0.163]). These findings provide important evidence to inform policy and targeted interventions that promote healthy food behaviours in apartment-living populations.
Keywords
apartment, diet, food behaviour, fruit and vegetable, meals out of home
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
ISSN
23748834
Publication Title
Cities & Health
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute
Funding Information
JM was supported by Research Training Program Fees Offset Scholarship, University of Western Australia Tuition Fee Scholarship, and University Postgraduate Award (The Built Food Environment and Children’s Health). GT was supported by a Stan Perron Foundation People and Platform Grant, an Edith Cowan University Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellowship, and an ARC DECRA Fellowship [DE210101791]. SF was supported by an ARC Future Fellowship [FT210100899].
Funding received from the Australian Research Council (ARC)
DE210101791, FT210100899
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Mandzufas, J., Hickling, S., Murray, K., Foster, S., & Trapp, G. S. A. (2026). Tall orders: A comparison of resident food behaviours by dwelling type and apartment characteristics in Australia. Cities & Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2026.2677398