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Foster IS, Liu SY, Hoffs CT, LeBoa C, Chen AS, Rummo PE. Disparities in SNAP online grocery delivery and implementation: Lessons learned from California during the 2020-21 COVID pandemic. Health Place 2022; 76:102811. [PMID: 35605572 PMCID: PMC9122786 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) was rapidly expanded across the US. This program, enabling direct-to-home grocery delivery, could be a transformative step towards improving fresh-food access. However, lack of information on which areas are serviced by SNAP OPP hinders the identification of potential demographic and regional disparities in access. Lessons from the initial implementation period are critical for understanding continuing inequities and informing the implementation of future programs. In California, SNAP OPP expanded food access for 85.9% of the state's SNAP households in 2020–21. Coverage was significantly greater in urban areas, covering 87.2% of CalFresh households in urban limited food access areas as compared with 29.9% of CalFresh households in rural limited food access areas. County-level COVID-19 rates did not have a meaningful association with SNAP OPP coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle S Foster
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: FSI, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Samantha Y Liu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Charlie T Hoffs
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Christopher LeBoa
- Department of Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Andrew S Chen
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Pasquale E Rummo
- Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
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Moran AJ, Wang J, Sharkey AL, Dowling EA, Curtis CJ, Kessler KA. US Food Industry Progress Toward Salt Reduction, 2009-2018. Am J Public Health 2022; 112:325-333. [PMID: 35080946 PMCID: PMC8802589 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2021.306571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Objectives. To determine the extent to which reductions in sodium during the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI) target-setting period (2009-2014) continued after 2014. Methods. We used the NSRI Packaged Food Database, which links products in the top 80% of US packaged food sales to nutrition information, to assess the proportion of products meeting the NSRI targets and the sales-weighted mean sodium density (mg/100 g) of 54 packaged food categories between 2009 and 2018. Results. There was an 8.5% sales-weighted mean reduction in sodium between 2009 and 2018. Most change occurred between 2009 and 2012, with little change in subsequent years. The proportion of packaged foods meeting the 2012 and 2014 targets increased 48% and 45%, respectively, from 2009 to 2012, with no additional improvements through 2018. Conclusions. Food manufacturers reduced sodium in the early years of the NSRI, but progress slowed after 2012. Public Health Implications. The US Food and Drug Administration just released 2.5-year voluntary sodium targets for packaged and restaurant food. Continued assessment of industry progress and further target setting by the Food and Drug Administration is crucial to reducing sodium in the food supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa J. Moran
- Alyssa J. Moran and Jiangxia Wang are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Andrea L. Sharkey, Erin A. Dowling, Christine Johnson Curtis, and Kimberly A. Kessler are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY
| | - Jiangxia Wang
- Alyssa J. Moran and Jiangxia Wang are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Andrea L. Sharkey, Erin A. Dowling, Christine Johnson Curtis, and Kimberly A. Kessler are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY
| | - Andrea L. Sharkey
- Alyssa J. Moran and Jiangxia Wang are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Andrea L. Sharkey, Erin A. Dowling, Christine Johnson Curtis, and Kimberly A. Kessler are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY
| | - Erin A. Dowling
- Alyssa J. Moran and Jiangxia Wang are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Andrea L. Sharkey, Erin A. Dowling, Christine Johnson Curtis, and Kimberly A. Kessler are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY
| | - Christine Johnson Curtis
- Alyssa J. Moran and Jiangxia Wang are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Andrea L. Sharkey, Erin A. Dowling, Christine Johnson Curtis, and Kimberly A. Kessler are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY
| | - Kimberly A. Kessler
- Alyssa J. Moran and Jiangxia Wang are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Andrea L. Sharkey, Erin A. Dowling, Christine Johnson Curtis, and Kimberly A. Kessler are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY
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Socio-economic and racial/ethnic disparities in the nutritional quality of packaged food purchases in the USA, 2008-2018. Public Health Nutr 2021; 24:5730-5742. [PMID: 33500012 DOI: 10.1017/s1368980021000367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether disparities exist in the nutritional quality of packaged foods and beverage purchases by household income, education and race/ethnicity and if they changed over time. DESIGN We used Nielsen Homescan, a nationally representative household panel, from 2008 to 2018 (n = 672 821 household-year observations). Multivariate, multilevel regressions were used to model the association between sociodemographic groups and a set of nutritional outcomes of public health interest, including nutrients of concern (sugar, saturated fat and Na) and calories from specific food groups (fruits, non-starchy vegetables, processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and junk foods). SETTING Household panel survey. PARTICIPANTS Approximately 60 000 households each year from the USA. RESULTS Disparities were found by income and education for most outcomes and widened for purchases of fruits, vegetables and the percentage of calories from sugar between 2008 and 2018. The magnitude of disparities was largest by education. Disparities between Black and White households include the consumption of processed meats and the percentage of calories from sugar, while no disparities were found between White and Hispanic households. Disparities have been largely persistent, as any significant changes over time have been substantively small. CONCLUSIONS Policies to improve the healthfulness of packaged foods must be expanded beyond SSB taxes, and future research should focus on what mediates the relationship between education and diet so as not to exacerbate disparities.
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Sobhani SR, Babashahi M. Determinants of Household Food Basket Composition: A Systematic Review. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 49:1827-1838. [PMID: 33346207 PMCID: PMC7719639 DOI: 10.18502/ijph.v49i10.4681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Background: Demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental determinants are important to population health status in all countries and diet is the main way that these factors could affect health. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of recent research evidence about these determinants of household food basket composition. Methods: The PRISMA guideline was used to the reproducibility of this systematic review. Three databases including PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were systematically searched from 1991 to Dec 2017. Results: Thirty four studies were included. Most studies were done in the United States. Three categories of determinants including the demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental define the contribution of different food groups in the household food basket. These factors determine the healthiness of family diet. Conclusion: Many determinants affect household food basket. Comprehensive consideration of policymakers to these factors is essential to creating and maintaining a healthy society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyyed Reza Sobhani
- Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mina Babashahi
- Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Understanding the Intersection of Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Geographic Location: A Scoping Review of U.S. Consumer Food Purchasing. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17207677. [PMID: 33096828 PMCID: PMC7593902 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17207677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Disparities in diet quality persist in the U.S. Examining consumer food purchasing can provide unique insight into the nutritional inequities documented by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and geographic location (i.e., urban vs. rural). There remains limited understanding of how these three factors intersect to influence consumer food purchasing. This study aimed to summarize peer-reviewed scientific studies that provided an intersectional perspective on U.S. consumer food purchasing. Thirty-four studies were examined that presented objectively measured data on purchasing outcomes of interest (e.g., fruits, vegetables, salty snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages, Healthy Eating Index, etc.). All studies were of acceptable or high quality. Only six studies (17.6%) assessed consumer food purchases at the intersection of race/ethnicity, SES, or geographic location. Other studies evaluated racial/ethnic or SES differences in food purchasing or described the food and/or beverage purchases of a targeted population (example: low-income non-Hispanic Black households). No study assessed geographic differences in food or beverage purchases or examined purchases at the intersection of all three factors. Overall, this scoping review highlights the scarcity of literature on the role of intersectionality in consumer food and beverage purchasing and provides recommendations for future studies to grow this important area of research.
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Archer E, Arjmandi B. Falsehoods and facts about dietary sugars: a call for evidence-based policy. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2020; 61:3725-3739. [PMID: 32799555 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1804320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Sugar, tobacco, and alcohol have been demonized since the seventeenth century. Yet unlike tobacco and alcohol, there is indisputable scientific evidence that dietary sugars were essential for human evolution and are essential for human health and development. Therefore, the purpose of this analytic review and commentary is to demonstrate that anti-sugar rhetoric is divorced from established scientific facts and has led to politically expedient but ill-informed policies reminiscent of those enacted about alcohol a century ago in the United States. Herein, we present a large body of interdisciplinary research to illuminate several misconceptions, falsehoods, and facts about dietary sugars. We argue that anti-sugar policies and recommendations are not merely unscientific but are regressive and unjust because they harm the most vulnerable members of our society while providing no personal or public health benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bahram Arjmandi
- Department of Nutrition, Food, and Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.,Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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Du S, Wang H, Zhang B, Popkin BM. Dietary Potassium Intake Remains Low and Sodium Intake Remains High, and Most Sodium is Derived from Home Food Preparation for Chinese Adults, 1991-2015 Trends. J Nutr 2020; 150:1230-1239. [PMID: 31909790 PMCID: PMC7198305 DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxz332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intervention strategies to reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake may decrease blood pressure; however, most are focused on reducing sodium in processed food globally. OBJECTIVES We attempt to fill important gaps in understanding the dynamics of these dietary determinants of hypertension in China. METHODS We used data on 29,926 adults aged ≥20 y between 1991 and 2015 from an ongoing cohort, the China Health and Nutrition Survey. We collected detailed diet data with use of weighing methods with 3 consecutive 24-h recalls. With panel data random-effects models, we analyzed factors associated with sodium and potassium intakes and sodium to potassium (Na/K) ratios. RESULTS Sodium intake decreased from 6.3 g/d in 1991 to 4.1 g/d in 2015, still twice the tolerable upper intake recommended by the WHO. Potassium intake was 1.7 g/d in 1991 and 1.5 g/d in 2015, below half that recommended by the WHO. The Na/K ratio decreased from 4.1 (ratios in g) in 1991 to 3.1 in 2015, 5 times the recommendation of the WHO. More than two-thirds (67%) of sodium intake was from salt added during food preparation, with 8.8% from processed foods in 2015, up from 5.0% in 1991. The most at-risk populations lived in China's central region and rural areas, were middle aged, had lower educations, or were farmers. CONCLUSIONS Sodium intake is very high across all regions in China. As part of sodium reduction efforts, China should target people living in the central region and adults aged above 60 whose sodium intakes are much higher. Strategies to decrease sodium intake and increase potassium intake should be different from those applied in the Western world where the major source is processed food. Reduced sodium higher potassium salts should become a major policy initiative in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shufa Du
- Department of Nutrition and Carolina Population Center, CB #8120 Carolina Square, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Huijun Wang
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Zhang
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Barry M Popkin
- Department of Nutrition and Carolina Population Center, CB #8120 Carolina Square, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA,Address correspondence to BMP (e-mail: )
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Pedraza LS, Popkin BM, Batis C, Adair L, Robinson WR, Guilkey DK, Taillie LS. The caloric and sugar content of beverages purchased at different store-types changed after the sugary drinks taxation in Mexico. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2019; 16:103. [PMID: 31718664 PMCID: PMC6849184 DOI: 10.1186/s12966-019-0872-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Following the 2014 sugary drinks tax implementation in Mexico, promising reduction in the volume of purchases of taxed beverages were observed overall and at different store-types. However, the tax's effects on purchasing patterns of calories and sugar remain unclear. METHODS Using longitudinal data from Mexican households (n = 7038), we examined changes in volume, calories and total sugar of packaged beverages purchased from 2012 to 2016 overall and by store-type. We used fixed effects models to estimate means for volume, calories, and sugar of households. To address the potential selectivity from households shopping at different stores, we calculated inverse probability weights to model the purchases changes over time by store-type. RESULTS For taxed beverages, the volume of purchases declined by - 49 ml and -30 ml in the first year and second year post tax (2014 and 2015, respectively), while purchases leveled off in the third year of the tax (2016). Calories and sugar from taxed beverage purchases decreased over time, with the majority of the declines occurring in the first two years post-tax implementation. The volume of untaxed beverage purchases increased, whereas changes in calories and total sugar of untaxed beverages were minimal. Store level purchases of taxed beverages significantly decreased in the first two years post taxation (2014 and to 2015) only in supermarkets and traditional stores. The steepest declines in purchases of taxed beverages in 2014 were observed at supermarkets (- 40 ml or - 45%). The volume of purchases of untaxed beverages increased over time in almost all store-types, while calories and sugar minimally decreased over time. CONCLUSION Although the Mexican tax on SSBs has lowered the purchases of sugary drinks 3 years after the tax implementation, the tax should be strengthened and store-specific interventions should be implemented to further reduce SSBs purchases in the Mexican population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilia S. Pedraza
- Department of Nutrition, Carolina Population Center, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB # 2107 Carolina Square, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997 USA
| | - Barry M. Popkin
- Department of Nutrition, Carolina Population Center, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB # 2107 Carolina Square, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997 USA
| | - Carolina Batis
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico
| | - Linda Adair
- Department of Nutrition, Carolina Population Center, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB # 2107 Carolina Square, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997 USA
| | - Whitney R. Robinson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA
| | - David K. Guilkey
- Economics Department, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA
| | - Lindsey Smith Taillie
- Department of Nutrition, Carolina Population Center, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB # 2107 Carolina Square, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997 USA
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Wertheim-Heck SCO, Raneri JE. A cross-disciplinary mixed-method approach to understand how food retail environment transformations influence food choice and intake among the urban poor: Experiences from Vietnam. Appetite 2019; 142:104370. [PMID: 31310835 PMCID: PMC6739597 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Nutrition insecurity among urban poor in modernizing Asian metropolises is a critical issue. It is well recognized that in urban Asia the poor are food insecure. Across Asia the food retail environment is transforming rapidly, in which supermarkets increasingly replace traditional food vending, like markets and street vendors that the urban poor depend upon. The question is, how these transformations impact the diets of the urban poor? What drives their food choice? What are their daily shopping practices and how does that affect their dietary intake? To investigate this, we developed a cross-disciplinary nutrition and social practices study with a sequential quantitative-qualitative mixed-method design. Building on empirical evidence from Hanoi, Vietnam, the study links (i) food choice and measured dietary intake, with (ii) food retail environment, through (iii) food shopping practices and preferences of 400 women of reproductive age within the context of (iv) their transformative urban lifestyles. Methods included are a retail census with GPS coordinates to map the food retail environment, a household survey, a 24-h diet recall, multi-generation household interviews and shopping trips. We demonstrate that integrated sociological and nutritional perspectives are productive in rapidly generating evidence to comprehend the complex trade-offs between food safety and nutrition in everyday food consumption practices. We describe and reflect on our theoretical mix of dietary intake and social practices research, and our holistic mixed method approach which besides combining quantitative and qualitative methods, also voices the urban poor first hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sigrid C O Wertheim-Heck
- Environmental Policy Group, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN, Wageningen, the Netherlands; C/o Food and Healthy Living Group, Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Stadhuisstraat 18, 1315 AK, Almere, the Netherlands.
| | - Jessica E Raneri
- Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems Initiative, Bioversity International, Via Dei Tre Denari, 472/a, 00054, Maccarese (Fiumicino), Italy.
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Bandy L, Adhikari V, Jebb S, Rayner M. The use of commercial food purchase data for public health nutrition research: A systematic review. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210192. [PMID: 30615664 PMCID: PMC6322827 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traditional methods of dietary assessment have their limitations and commercial sources of food sales and purchase data are increasingly suggested as an additional source to measuring diet at the population level. However, the potential uses of food sales data are less well understood. The aim of this review is to establish how sales data on food and soft drink products from third-party companies have been used in public health nutrition research. METHODS A search of five electronic databases was conducted in February-March 2018 for studies published in peer-reviewed journals that had used food sales or purchase data from a commercial company to analyse trends and patterns in food purchases or in the nutritional composition of foods. Study quality was evaluated using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. RESULTS Of 2919 papers identified in the search, 68 were included. The selected studies used sales or purchase data from four companies: Euromonitor, GfK, Kantar and Nielsen. Sales and purchase data have been used to evaluate interventions, including the impact of the saturated fat tax in Denmark, the soft drink and junk food taxes in Mexico and supplemental nutrition programmes in the USA. They have also been used to identify trends in the nutrient composition of foods over time and patterns in food purchasing, including socio-demographic variations in purchasing. CONCLUSION Food sales and purchase data are a valuable tool for public health nutrition researchers and their use has increased markedly in the last four years, despite the cost of access, the lack of transparency on data-collection methods and restrictions on publication. The availability of product and brand-level sales data means they are particularly useful for assessing how changes by individual food companies can impact on diet and public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Bandy
- Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Vyas Adhikari
- Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Susan Jebb
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Mike Rayner
- Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Wertheim-Heck S, Raneri JE, Oosterveer P. Food safety and nutrition for low-income urbanites: exploring a social justice dilemma in consumption policy. REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE 2019; 31:397-420. [PMID: 32704235 PMCID: PMC7340485 DOI: 10.1177/0956247819858019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Equitable access to healthy food is a critical challenge in urban Asia. Food safety governance promotes modern supermarkets over more traditional markets, but supermarkets are associated with unequal access to food. This study investigates how retail policies driven by food safety impact the diets of the urban poor in Hanoi, Vietnam. We do this by linking food retail infrastructures with the food shopping practices and measured dietary intake of 400 women. Our results reveal sub-optimal dietary diversity and reliance on foods sourced through traditional markets, which do not provide formal food safety guarantees. Modern channels supply formal food safety guarantees, but are mainly frequented for purchasing ultra-processed foods. The paper uncovers a conflicting duality governing food security and suggests that the public responsibility for ensuring access of the poor to nutritious and safe foods requires a more diverse retail policy approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sigrid Wertheim-Heck
- Sigrid Wertheim-Heck is a professor of Food and Healthy Living at Aeres University of Applied Sciences and a senior research fellow at the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, both in the Netherlands. Her interest in global urban food security informs her research agenda on the relationship among metropolitan development, food provisioning and food consumption. With a background in consumption sociology, her main areas of interest include everyday consumption practices and equitable access to sustainable, safe and healthy foods
| | - Jessica Evelyn Raneri
- Jessica Raneri is a nutrition research specialist at Bioversity International. She is involved in designing and implementing "Agricultural Biodiversity, Nutrition and Dietary" assessments using participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods. She leads a project in Vietnam designed to improve dietary diversity through an integrated systems perspective. She also supports sustainable diet activities and believes that it is crucial to understand how biodiversity can be utilized to improve the sustainability of food systems and quality of diets
| | - Peter Oosterveer
- Peter Oosterveer is a professor at the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. His research interests are in global public and private food governance arrangements and innovative institutional developments in sustainable food production and consumption, in particular labelling and certification practices in global supply chains. Furthermore, he is studying food consumption practices from a sociological perspective and is particularly interested in how consumers access sufficient, sustainable and healthy food, including the role of retail
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Mobile app increases vegetable-based preparations by low-income household cooks: a randomized controlled trial. Public Health Nutr 2018; 22:714-725. [PMID: 30472970 PMCID: PMC6521788 DOI: 10.1017/s1368980018003117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Objective We built an app to help clients of food pantries. The app offers vegetable-based recipes, food tips and no-cost strategies for making mealtimes healthier and for bargain-conscious grocery shopping, among other themes. Users customize materials to meet their own preferences. The app, available in English and Spanish, has been tested in a randomized field trial. Design A randomized controlled trial with repeated measures across 10 weeks. Setting Clients of fifteen community food pantry distributions in Los Angeles County, USA. Participants Distributions were randomized to control and experimental conditions, and 289 household cooks and one of their 9–14-year-old children were enrolled as participants. Experimental dyads were given a smartphone with our app and a phone use-plan, then trained to use the app. ‘Test vegetables’ were added to the foods that both control and experimental participants received at their pantries. Results After 3–4 weeks of additional ‘test vegetables’, cooks at experimental pantries had made 38 % more preparations with these items than control cooks (P = 0·03). Ten weeks following baseline, experimental pantries also scored greater gains in using a wider assortment of vegetables than control pantries (P = 0·003). Use of the app increased between mid-experiment and final measurement (P = 0·0001). Conclusions The app appears to encourage household cooks to try new preparation methods and widen their incorporation of vegetables into family diets. Further research is needed to identify specific app features that contributed most to outcomes and to test ways in which to disseminate the app widely.
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Beydoun MA, Fanelli-Kuczmarski MT, Poti J, Allen A, Beydoun HA, Evans MK, Zonderman AB. Longitudinal change in the diet's monetary value is associated with its change in quality and micronutrient adequacy among urban adults. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204141. [PMID: 30312298 PMCID: PMC6193582 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Reducing diet costs may lead to the selection of energy-dense foods, such as refined grains or foods high in added sugars and/or fats, which can lower overall dietary quality. We examined the longitudinal association between the monetary value of the diet (MVD) and the overall dietary quality across sex, race and income groups. Methods and findings Longitudinal data from 1,466 adult urban participants from Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study were used. Healthy Eating Index–2010 (HEI–2010) and Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) were computed and a national food price database was used to estimate MVD. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted linking annual rates of change (Δ) in MVD to ΔHEI-2010 and ΔMAR, stratifying by sex, race and income groups. Among key findings, ΔHEI-2010 was comparable across socio-demographic groups, while ΔMAR was higher among women and individuals above poverty. Adjusting for key covariates, ΔMVD was positively associated with both ΔHEI-2010 and ΔMAR, and with a consistently stronger association among individuals above poverty, specifically for the total proteins and empty calories components of HEI-2010 and several nutrient adequacy ratios (NARs: vitamins C, E, B-6 and Zinc). ΔMVD-ΔMAR association was stronger in women, mainly influenced by ΔMVD’s positive associations with B-vitamins, copper, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus NARs. ΔMVD-Δvitamin D NAR’s positive relationship was stronger among Whites, while ΔMVD-Δvitamin B-12 NAR’s association was stronger among African-Americans. Conclusions In sum, a potential increase in MVD may have a stronger impact on dietary quality among urban adult women and above-poverty individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- May A. Beydoun
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Intramural Research Program, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Jennifer Poti
- Department of Nutrition and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Allyssa Allen
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Woodlawn, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Hind A. Beydoun
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Michele K. Evans
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Intramural Research Program, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Alan B. Zonderman
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Intramural Research Program, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
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14
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Poti JM, Yoon E, Hollingsworth B, Ostrowski J, Wandell J, Miles DR, Popkin BM. Development of a food composition database to monitor changes in packaged foods and beverages. J Food Compost Anal 2017; 64:18-26. [PMID: 29230079 PMCID: PMC5721674 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2017.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
In order to monitor nutritional changes in the US food supply and assess potential impact on individual dietary intake, an approach was developed to enhance existing standard food composition tables with time-varying product- and brand-specific information for barcoded packaged foods. A "Crosswalk" was formed between barcoded products and USDA foodcodes in a time-specific manner, such that sales-weighted average nutritional profiles were generated for each foodcode based on corresponding products (275,000 to 350,000 per 2-year cycle). This Crosswalk-enhanced food composition table was applied to dietary intake data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (cycles 2007-2008, 2009-2010, and 2011-2012). Total energy density of foods consumed by Americans from stores/vending was stable over time and differed by <5 kcal/100g using the Crosswalk-enhanced vs standard database. However, changes in the energy density of food groups were found utilizing the Crosswalk that were not detected using the standard database. Likewise, significant declines in energy intake from beverages among children (288±7.3 to 258±6.8 kcal/d) were found using the Crosswalk-enhanced database but were non-significant using the standard database. The Crosswalk approach can potentially augment national nutrition surveys by utilizing commercial food purchase and nutrient databases to capture changes in the nutrient content of packaged foods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M. Poti
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - Emily Yoon
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | | | - Jessica Ostrowski
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - Julie Wandell
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - Donna R. Miles
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - Barry M. Popkin
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
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15
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Taillie LS, Grummon AH, Fleischhacker S, Grigsby-Toussaint DS, Leone L, Caspi CE. Best practices for using natural experiments to evaluate retail food and beverage policies and interventions. Nutr Rev 2017; 75:971-989. [PMID: 29190370 PMCID: PMC6280926 DOI: 10.1093/nutrit/nux051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Policy and programmatic change in the food retail setting, including excise taxes on beverages with added-caloric sweeteners, new supermarkets in food deserts, and voluntary corporate pledges, often require the use of natural experimental evaluation for impact evaluation when randomized controlled trials are not possible. Although natural experimental studies in the food retail setting provide important opportunities to test how nonrandomized interventions affect behavioral and health outcomes, researchers face several key challenges to maintaining strong internal and external validity when conducting these studies. Broadly, these challenges include 1) study design and analysis; 2) selection of participants, selection of measures, and obtainment of data; and 3) real-world considerations. This article addresses these challenges and different approaches to meeting them. Case studies are used to illustrate these approaches and to highlight advantages and disadvantages of each approach. If the trade-offs required to address these challenges are carefully considered, thoughtful natural experimental evaluations can minimize bias and provide critical information about the impacts of food retail interventions to a variety of stakeholders, including the affected population, policymakers, and food retailers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Smith Taillie
- Carolina Population Center, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Anna H Grummon
- Carolina Population Center, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sheila Fleischhacker
- Office of Nutrition Research, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Diana S Grigsby-Toussaint
- Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Lucia Leone
- School of Public Health and Health Professions, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Caitlin Eicher Caspi
- Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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