Associations Between Governmental Policies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Supermarket Purchases and Individual, Retailer, and Community Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2020 Oct 20

PMID 33076280

Citations 16

Authors

Alyssa J Moran

Yuxuan Gu

Sasha Clynes

Attia Goheer

Christina A Roberto

Anne Palmer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Supermarkets are natural and important settings for implementing environmental interventions to improve healthy eating, and governmental policies could help improve the nutritional quality of purchases in this setting. This review aimed to: (1) identify governmental policies in the United States (U.S.), including regulatory and legislative actions of federal, tribal, state, and local governments, designed to promote healthy choices in supermarkets; and (2) synthesize evidence of these policies' effects on retailers, consumers, and community health. We searched five policy databases and developed a list of seven policy actions that meet our inclusion criteria: calorie labeling of prepared foods in supermarkets; increasing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; financial incentives for the purchase of fruit and vegetables; sweetened beverage taxes; revisions to the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food package; financial assistance for supermarkets to open in underserved areas; and allowing online purchases with SNAP. We searched PubMed, Econlit, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Business Source Ultimate to identify peer-reviewed, academic, English-language literature published at any time until January 2020; 147 studies were included in the review. Sweetened beverage taxes, revisions to the WIC food package, and financial incentives for fruits and vegetables were associated with improvements in dietary behaviors (food purchases and/or consumption). Providing financial incentives to supermarkets to open in underserved areas and increases in SNAP benefits were not associated with changes in food purchasing or diet quality but may improve food security. More research is needed to understand the effects of calorie labeling in supermarkets and online SNAP purchasing.

Citing Articles

Whole grain intake among young children ages 12 to 48 months participating in the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study was higher in 2016 compared to 2008.

Kay M, Anater A, Guthrie J, Hampton J, Story M Nutr Res. 2025; 135:1-12.

PMID: 39889407 PMC: 11903143. DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2024.12.007.

Perspective: Nutrition Health Disparities Framework: A Model to Advance Health Equity.

Agurs-Collins T, Alvidrez J, ElShourbagy Ferreira S, Evans M, Gibbs K, Kowtha B Adv Nutr. 2024; 15(4):100194.

PMID: 38616067 PMC: 11031378. DOI: 10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100194.

Promoting health in the digital environment: health policy experts' responses to on-demand delivery in Aotearoa New Zealand.

McKerchar C, Bidwell S, Curl A, Pocock T, Cowie M, Miles H Health Promot Int. 2023; 38(4).

PMID: 37611159 PMC: 10446141. DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daad091.

Impact of a financial incentive scheme on purchase of fruits and vegetables from unorganised retailers in rural India: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Kinra S, Mallinson P, Debbarma A, Walls H, Lieber J, Bhogadi S Lancet Reg Health Southeast Asia. 2023; 12:100140.

PMID: 37384059 PMC: 10305860. DOI: 10.1016/j.lansea.2022.100140.

The association between the food environment and adherence to healthy diet quality: the Maastricht Study.

Chan J, Koster A, Eussen S, Pinho M, Lakerveld J, Stehouwer C Public Health Nutr. 2023; 26(9):1775-1783.

PMID: 37340803 PMC: 10478064. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980023001180.

References

Bachman J, Arigo D . Reported Influences on Restaurant-Type Food Selection Decision Making in a Grocery Store Chain. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2018; 50(6):555-563. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.01.020. View

Chaparro M, Wang M, Anderson C, Crespi C, Whaley S . The Association between the 2009 WIC Food Package Change and Early Childhood Obesity Risk Varies by Type of Infant Package Received. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2019; 120(3):371-385. DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2019.09.014. View

Andreyeva T, Luedicke J . Federal food package revisions: effects on purchases of whole-grain products. Am J Prev Med. 2013; 45(4):422-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.05.009. View

Ruff R, Zhen C . Estimating the effects of a calorie-based sugar-sweetened beverage tax on weight and obesity in New York City adults using dynamic loss models. Ann Epidemiol. 2015; 25(5):350-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2014.12.008. View

Chaparro M, Crespi C, Anderson C, Wang M, Whaley S . The 2009 Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food package change and children's growth trajectories and obesity in Los Angeles County. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019; 109(5):1414-1421. DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy347. View

Kim L, Whaley S, Gradziel P, Crocker N, Ritchie L, Harrison G . Mothers prefer fresh fruits and vegetables over jarred baby fruits and vegetables in the new Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children food package. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2013; 45(6):723-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2013.01.022. View

Zhen C, Finkelstein E, Nonnemaker J, Karns S, Todd J . Predicting the Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes on Food and Beverage Demand in a Large Demand System. Am J Agric Econ. 2014; 96(1):1-25. PMC: 4022288. DOI: 10.1093/ajae/aat049. View

Zeng D, Thomsen M, Nayga Jr R, Bennett J . Supermarket access and childhood bodyweight: Evidence from store openings and closings. Econ Hum Biol. 2019; 33:78-88. DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2019.01.004. View

Lagisetty P, Flamm L, Rak S, Landgraf J, Heisler M, Forman J . A multi-stakeholder evaluation of the Baltimore City virtual supermarket program. BMC Public Health. 2017; 17(1):837. PMC: 5653995. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4864-9. View

10.

Ford C, Poti J, Ng S, Popkin B . SSB taxes and diet quality in US preschoolers: estimated changes in the 2010 Healthy Eating Index. Pediatr Obes. 2016; 12(2):146-154. PMC: 5052098. DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12121. View

11.

Decker D, Flynn M . Food Insecurity and Chronic Disease: Addressing Food Access as a Healthcare Issue. R I Med J (2013). 2018; 101(4):28-30. View

12.

Cohen D, Bogart L, Castro G, Rossi A, Williamson S, Han B . Beverage marketing in retail outlets and The Balance Calories Initiative. Prev Med. 2018; 115:1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.07.014. View

13.

Jardim T, Mozaffarian D, Abrahams-Gessel S, Sy S, Lee Y, Liu J . Cardiometabolic disease costs associated with suboptimal diet in the United States: A cost analysis based on a microsimulation model. PLoS Med. 2019; 16(12):e1002981. PMC: 6917211. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002981. View

14.

French S, Rydell S, Mitchell N, Oakes J, Elbel B, Harnack L . Financial incentives and purchase restrictions in a food benefit program affect the types of foods and beverages purchased: results from a randomized trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017; 14(1):127. PMC: 5602848. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-017-0585-9. View

15.

Au L, Paolicelli C, Gurzo K, Ritchie L, Weinfield N, Plank K . Contribution of WIC-Eligible Foods to the Overall Diet of 13- and 24-Month-Old Toddlers in the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2019; 119(3):435-448. DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2018.11.001. View

16.

Lu W, McKyer E, Dowdy D, Evans A, Ory M, Hoelscher D . Evaluating the Influence of the Revised Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Allocation Package on Healthy Food Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability in Texas. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015; 116(2):292-301. DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2015.10.021. View

17.

Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman D . Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 2009; 6(7):e1000097. PMC: 2707599. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097. View

18.

Dharmasena S, Capps Jr O . Intended and unintended consequences of a proposed national tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to combat the U.S. obesity problem. Health Econ. 2011; 21(6):669-94. DOI: 10.1002/hec.1738. View

19.

Jithitikulchai T, Andreyeva T . Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Demand and Tax Simulation for Federal Food Assistance Participants: A Case of Two New England States. Appl Health Econ Health Policy. 2018; 16(4):549-558. DOI: 10.1007/s40258-018-0399-1. View

20.

Joyce T, Reeder J . Changes in breastfeeding among WIC participants following implementation of the new food package. Matern Child Health J. 2014; 19(4):868-76. DOI: 10.1007/s10995-014-1588-7. View