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The Implication of Digital Food Environment on Dietary Choices and Health

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 12777

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Dr. Stephanie Partridge

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Guest Editor

Engagement and Co-design Hub, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
Interests: obesity and overweight; public health; nutrition and metabolism; digital health; prevention of obesity; chronic diseases; food accessibility and consumption; behavioral science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Alice Gibson

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Guest Editor

Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Interests: behavioural sciences; cardiovascular diseases; diabetes; diet; obesity & overweight
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Dear Colleagues,

Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease are the leading cause of diet-related deaths, with 10 million attributable deaths in 2017. Escalating healthcare costs of diet-related chronic disease will place greater demands on already over-burdened healthcare systems. Dietary risk factors for chronic disease include diets high in discretionary foods (i.e., high in added salt, saturated fat, and sugar and low in fibre—‘junk foods’). To stem the rapid rise in chronic disease globally, we need to understand the societal and environmental influences on population food choices and dietary intake.

The way we purchase foods has changed, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with a click of a button, we can order supermarket groceries, prepared meals, or meal kits and takeaway foods, among others. However, there has been limited research to understand the health and policy implications of the digitisation of the food environment. There have been growing calls for greater research in this field from international bodies, such as the World Health Organization; however, current public health nutrition policies do not include strategies to address the challenges and opportunities it presents. This forms an innovative area for new research to navigate the potential negative public health impacts of the digital food environment on dietary choices and health outcomes and to ensure people have access to healthy and nutritious convenience food.

Dr. Stephanie Partridge
Dr. Alice Gibson
Guest Editors

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Keywords

food environment
online food delivery
diet
nutrition
takeout
fast food

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Giving Families a Voice for Equitable Healthy Food Access in the Wake of Online Grocery Shopping

by Gabriela M. Vedovato, Shahmir H. Ali, Caitlin M. Lowery and Angela C. B. Trude

Nutrients 2022, 14(20), 4377; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14204377 - 19 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1934

Abstract

Understanding the views of families from low-income backgrounds about inequities in healthy food access and grocery purchase is critical to food access policies. This study explored perspectives of families eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on healthy food access in physical and online grocery environments. The qualitative design used purposive sampling of 44 primary household food purchasers with children (aged ≤ 8), between November 2020–March 2021, through 11 online focus groups and 5 in-depth interviews. Grounded theory was used to identify community-level perceived inequities, including influences of COVID-19 pandemic, SNAP and online grocery services. The most salient perceived causes of inequitable food access were neighborhood resource deficiencies and public transportation limitations. Rural communities, people with disabilities, older adults, racially and ethnically diverse groups were perceived to be disproportionately impacted by food inequities, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. The ability to use SNAP benefits to buy foods online facilitated healthy food access. Delivery fees and lack of control over food selection were barriers. Barriers to healthy food access aggravated by SNAP included social stigma, inability to acquire cooked meals, and inadequate amount of monthly funds. Findings provide a foundation for policy redesign to promote equitable healthy food systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Implication of Digital Food Environment on Dietary Choices and Health)

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16 pages, 628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Food Outlet Access and the Healthiness of Food Available ‘On-Demand’ via Meal Delivery Apps in New Zealand

by Dru Norriss, Rose Crossin, Angela Curl, Susan Bidwell, Elinor Clark, Tessa Pocock, Ryan Gage and Christina McKerchar

Nutrients 2022, 14(20), 4228; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14204228 - 11 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1823

Abstract

Access to unhealthy commodities is a key factor determining consumption, and therefore influences the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Recently, there has been an increase in the availability of food ‘on-demand’ via meal delivery apps (MDAs). However, the public health and equity impacts of this shift are not yet well understood. This study focused on three MDAs in New Zealand and aimed to answer (1) what is the health profile of the foods being offered on-demand, (2) how many food outlets are available and does this differ by physical access or neighbourhood demographics and (3) does the health profile of foods offered differ by physical access or neighbourhood demographics? A dataset was created by sampling a set of street addresses across a range of demographic variables, and recording the menu items and number of available outlets offered to each address. Machine learning was utilised to evaluate the healthiness of menu items, and we examined if healthiness and the number of available outlets varied by neighbourhood demographics. Over 75% of menu items offered by all MDAs were unhealthy and approximately 30% of all menu items across the three MDAs scored at the lowest level of healthiness. Statistically significant differences by demographics were identified in one of the three MDAs in this study, which suggested that the proportion of unhealthy foods offered was highest in areas with the greatest socioeconomic deprivation and those with a higher proportion of Māori population. Policy and regulatory approaches need to adapt to this novel mode of access to unhealthy foods, to mitigate public health consequences and the effects on population groups already more vulnerable to non-communicable diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Implication of Digital Food Environment on Dietary Choices and Health)

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11 pages, 271 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Dietary Behaviors among New Users of Meal-Kit Services during the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Joelle N. Robinson-Oghogho, Roland J. Thorpe, Jr. and Roni A. Neff

Nutrients 2022, 14(19), 3953; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14193953 - 23 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2889

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way people acquired food, including increased use of meal-kit delivery services. Investigators analyzed data from a national survey of US adults collected between July 2020 and September 2020, to describe new users of meal-kit services during the pandemic and explore associations between new use of meal-kits and dietary behaviors. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify differences in demographic characteristics and reported dietary behaviors between new and never meal-kit users. Nearly all new meal-kit users were under the age of 55 years (92.5%), lived in urban areas (90.1%), and reported having children in their households (82%). A higher proportion of new users were current SNAP participants (32.8%) compared to never users (17.1%). Compared to never users, new users of meal-kit services reported eating more fruits and vegetables (PR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.42, 2.68), and more red and processed meats (PR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.49–3.85) since the pandemic began. Results suggest that meal-kit services may have been a useful resource for certain populations during the early months of COVID-19 and are potentially associated with increased consumption of certain foods. Further research examining the continued use and the influence of meal-kit services on diet is needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Implication of Digital Food Environment on Dietary Choices and Health)

12 pages, 517 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediating Effects of Food Content Watching Motivation on the between Watching Time and Nutrition Quotient of Adolescents in Seoul, Korea

by Da-Mee Kim, Bo-Mi Kim and Kyung-Hee Kim

Nutrients 2022, 14(19), 3901; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14193901 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2279

Abstract

Food-related content varies widely and is increasingly popular. Using various media, teenagers can easily access food content, which could affect they eating habits. This study was conducted to confirm the effects of watching motivation on the relationship between food content watching time and eating habits among adolescents in Seoul, Korea. Exactly 806 participants were surveyed about their food content watching status, including watching time and watching motivation. The Nutrition Quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) questionnaire was used to confirm eating habits. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to classify watching motivation’s subfactors. A parallel multimedia model was used to analyze the effect of watching motivation on the relationship between food content watching time and eating habits. As a result of this study, following the factor analysis, watching motivation was classified into information acquisition, emotional satisfaction, and enjoyment. The influence of food content watching time on NQ-A scores through information acquisition motivation was positively significant, whereas that through emotional satisfaction motivation was negatively significant. Enjoyment motivation did not indirectly affect the relationship between food content watching time and NQ-A scores. Hence, attention should be paid to these mediating factors when analyzing the relationship between watching food-related content and eating habits. Developing and distributing content that meets viewing motivations should help improve adolescents’ eating habits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Implication of Digital Food Environment on Dietary Choices and Health)

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13 pages, 1001 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mindful and Intuitive Eating Imagery on Instagram: A Content Analysis

by Johanna K. Hoare, Natalie B. Lister, Sarah P. Garnett, Louise A. Baur and Hiba Jebeile

Nutrients 2022, 14(18), 3834; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183834 - 16 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3235

Abstract

Non-dieting approaches, including mindful/intuitive eating, to health improvement are of increasing interest, yet little is known about young adults’ social media exposure to them. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the imagery related to mindful/intuitive eating which is visible to young adult Instagram users. Images categorized under the hashtags ‘mindfuleating’ and ‘intuitiveeating’ were searched in September 2021 using the ‘top posts’ view. Screen captures of 1200 grid-view images per hashtag were used to construct coding frameworks and to determine saturation. Sample sizes for #mindfuleating and #intuitiveeating were 405 and 495 images, respectively. Individual images were coded collaboratively. Almost half of each sample depicted food or drink, of which 50–60% were healthy foods. Approximately 17% were single-person images, of which the majority were young, female adults with healthy weight. Approximately one-third of text suggested credibility through credentials, profession, or evidence. Messaging was similar for both hashtags, encompassing mindful/intuitive eating (~40%), nutrition/eating behaviours (~15%), physical/mental health (~20%), disordered eating (~12%), and body-/self-acceptance (~12%). Differences were observed between hashtags for weight-related concepts (20%/1%) and anti-diet/weight-neutral approaches (10%/35%). The representation on Instagram of mindful and intuitive eating portrays healthy lifestyles without a focus on weight but lacks demographical and body-type diversity. Instagram holds the potential for health professionals to disseminate culturally/demographically inclusive, evidence-based health/nutrition information to youth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Implication of Digital Food Environment on Dietary Choices and Health)

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