Generating better evidence to engage local food outlets in obesity prevention research

Bleich, Sara N.

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.07.015

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…However, a permanent removal of unhealthy snacks at all checkouts involves an economic risk that many food retailers are not willing to take. Not surprisingly studies in food stores show that the top priority of food store managers and owners is making sales [13, 45, 52]. Hence, the uncertainty of fiscal implications of public health interventions challenges food store engagement [45, 52] and leads to the use of store owner monetary compensation and incentives as recruitment tools [53, 54].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not surprisingly studies in food stores show that the top priority of food store managers and owners is making sales [13, 45, 52]. Hence, the uncertainty of fiscal implications of public health interventions challenges food store engagement [45, 52] and leads to the use of store owner monetary compensation and incentives as recruitment tools [53, 54]. While we acknowledge such barriers and motivations, our study shows that food store managers are willing to engage in community health interventions without economic compensation and that making profit is an important driver, but not the only one.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Substituting sugar confectionery with fruit and healthy snacks at checkout – a win-win strategy for consumers and food stores? a study on consumer attitudes and sales effects of a healthy supermarket intervention

et al. 2016

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BackgroundThe widespread use of in-store marketing strategies to induce unhealthy impulsive purchases has implications for shopping experience, food choice and possibly adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine consumer attitudes and evaluate sales effects of a healthy checkout supermarket intervention. The study was part of Project Sundhed & Lokalsamfund (Project SoL); a Danish participatory community-based health promotion intervention.MethodsConsumer attitudes towards unhealthy snack exposure in supermarkets were examined in a qualitative pre-intervention study (29 short in-store interviews, 11 semi-structured interviews and three focus group interviews). Findings were presented to food retailers and informed the decision to test a healthy checkout intervention. Sugar confectionery at one checkout counter was substituted with fruit and healthy snacking items in four stores for 4 weeks. The intervention was evaluated by 48 short exit interviews on consumer perceptions of the intervention and by linear mixed model analyses of supermarket sales data from the intervention area and a matched control area.ResultsThe qualitative pre-intervention study identified consumer concern and annoyance with placement and promotion of unhealthy snacks in local stores. Store managers were willing to respond to local consumer concern and a healthy checkout intervention was therefore implemented. Exit interviews found positive attitudes towards the intervention, while intervention awareness was modest. Most participants believed that the intervention could help other consumers make healthier choices, while fewer expected to be influenced by the intervention themselves. Statistical analyses suggested an intervention effect on sales of carrot snack packs when compared with sales before the intervention in Bornholm control stores (P < 0.05). No significant intervention effect on sales of other intervention items or sugar confectionery was found.ConclusionsThe present study finds that the healthy checkout intervention was positively evaluated by consumers and provided a ‘responsible’ branding opportunity for supermarkets, thus representing a win-win strategy for store managers and consumers in the short term. However, the intervention was too modest to draw conclusions on long-term sales and health implications of this initiative. More research is needed to assess whether retailer-researcher collaborations on health promotion can be a winning strategy for public health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substituting sugar confectionery with fruit and healthy snacks at checkout – a win-win strategy for consumers and food stores? a study on consumer attitudes and sales effects of a healthy supermarket intervention

et al. 2016

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“…At first glance, the centrality of sales seems obvious. Bleich [ 59 ] argues, however, that public health researchers have not adequately addressed the priority of making sales. In particular, she suggests, existing food-store interventions (a) do not include sufficient fiscal measures to demonstrate short- and long-term impacts on profitability and (b) do not simultaneously consider the diverging goals of business owners and public health researchers [ 59 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food store owners’ and managers’ perspectives on the food environment: an exploratory mixed-methods study

Gravlee

Boston

Mitchell³

et al. 2014

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundNeighborhood characteristics such as poverty and racial composition are associated with inequalities in access to food stores and in the risk of obesity, but the pathways between food environments and health are not well understood. This article extends research on consumer food environments by examining the perspectives of food-store owners and managers.MethodsWe conducted semistructured, open-ended interviews with managers and owners of 20 food stores in low-income, predominantly African American neighborhoods in Tallahassee, Florida (USA). The interviews were designed to elicit store managers’ and owners’ views about healthy foods, the local food environment, and the challenges and opportunities they face in creating access to healthy foods. We elicited perceptions of what constitutes “healthy foods” using two free-list questions. The study was designed and implemented in accord with principles of community-based participatory research.ResultsStore owners’ and managers’ conceptions of “healthy foods” overlapped with public health messages, but (a) agreement about which foods are healthy was not widespread and (b) some retailers perceived processed foods such as snack bars and sugar-sweetened juice drinks as healthy. In semistructured interviews, store owners and managers linked the consumer food environment to factors across multiple levels of analysis, including: business practices such as the priority of making sales and the delocalization of decision-making, macroeconomic factors such as poverty and the cost of healthier foods, individual and family-level factors related to parenting and time constraints, and community-level factors such as crime and decline of social cohesion.ConclusionsOur results link food stores to multilevel, ecological models of the food environment. Efforts to reshape the consumer food environment require attention to factors across multiple levels of analysis, including local conceptions of “healthy foods”, the business priority of making sales, and policies and practices that favor the delocalization of decision making and constrain access to healthful foods.

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“…Small storeowners frequently do not track their own sales data, yet, often cite lack of sales and profitability as a barrier to stocking healthier food items [41, 51, 52]. Reporting the impact of evaluations on sales of specific items and well as overall profitability of the store would aid in acceptability of participation in small store interventions [53, 54]. Therefore, improvements are needed in tracking sales of specific foods as part of these interventions, to motivate storeowners to sustain stocking of these items.…”

Section: Key Literature Gaps and Areas For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing the Food Environment for Obesity Prevention: Key Gaps and Future Directions

2014

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The food environment has a great impact on the nutritional health of the population. Food environment interventions have become a popular strategy to address the obesity epidemic. However, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the most effective strategies to modify the food environment to improve health. In this review, we examine key gaps in the food environment intervention literature, including the need for: developing appropriate formative research plans when addressing the food environment; methods for selecting intervention domains and components; incorporating food producers and distributors in intervention strategies; strengthening evaluation of environmental interventions; building the evidence base for food environment interventions in diverse settings; engaging policy makers in the process of modifying the food environment; and creating systems science models to examine the costs and benefits of a potential program or policy on the food environment prior to implementation. In addition, we outline the need for strategies for addressing these issues including conducting additional pilot interventions, developing additional methodologies, and embracing the use of simulation models.

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Generating better evidence to engage local food outlets in obesity prevention research

Cited by 11 publications

References 15 publications

Substituting sugar confectionery with fruit and healthy snacks at checkout – a win-win strategy for consumers and food stores? a study on consumer attitudes and sales effects of a healthy supermarket intervention

Substituting sugar confectionery with fruit and healthy snacks at checkout – a win-win strategy for consumers and food stores? a study on consumer attitudes and sales effects of a healthy supermarket intervention

Food store owners’ and managers’ perspectives on the food environment: an exploratory mixed-methods study

Changing the Food Environment for Obesity Prevention: Key Gaps and Future Directions

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