Longitudinal Geo-referenced Field Evidence for the Heightened BMI Responsiveness of Obese Women to Price Discounts on Carbonated Soft Drinks

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2021 Dec 29

PMID 34965263

Authors

Yun-Hsuan Wu

Spencer Moore

Yu Ma

Laurette Dube

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the effect that food environments may have on obesity, particularly through mechanisms related to the marketing and consumption of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods and sugary beverages. Price promotions, such as temporary price discounts, have been particularly effective in the marketing of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) among consumers. Research has also suggested that the purchasing behavior of consumer groups may be differentially sensitive to price discounts on CSDs, with obese women particularly sensitive. In addition, the intensity of price discount in a person's food environment may also vary across geography and over time. This study examines whether the weight change of obese women, compared to overweight or normal BMI women, is more sensitive to the intensity of price discounts on CSDs in the food environment. This study used longitudinal survey data from 1622 women in the Montreal Neighborhood Networks and Health Aging (MoNNET-HA) Panel. Women were asked to report their height and weight in 2008, 2010 and 2013 in order to calculate women's BMI in 2008 and their change of weight between 2008 and 2013. Women's exposure to an unhealthy food environment was based on the frequency in which their neighborhood food stores placed price discounts on CSDs in 2008. The price discount frequency on CSDs within women's neighborhoods was calculated from Nielsen point-of sales transaction data in 2008 and geocoded to participant's forward sortation area. The prevalence of obesity and overweight among MoNNET-HA female participants was 18.3% in 2008, 19.9% in 2010 and 20.7% in 2013 respectively. Results showed that among obese women, exposure to unhealthy food environments was associated with a 3.25 kilogram (SE = 1.35, p-value = 0.02) weight gain over the five-year study period. Exposure to price discounts on CSDs may disproportionately affect and reinforce weight gain in women who are already obese.

References

Adjoian T, Dannefer R, Sacks R, Van Wye G . Comparing sugary drinks in the food retail environment in six NYC neighborhoods. J Community Health. 2013; 39(2):327-35. DOI: 10.1007/s10900-013-9765-y. View

Loxton N, Dawe S . Reward and punishment sensitivity in dysfunctional eating and hazardous drinking women: associations with family risk. Appetite. 2006; 47(3):361-71. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2006.05.014. View

Mobbs O, Crepin C, Thiery C, Golay A, Van der Linden M . Obesity and the four facets of impulsivity. Patient Educ Couns. 2010; 79(3):372-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.03.003. View

Powell L, Kumanyika S, Isgor Z, Rimkus L, Zenk S, Chaloupka F . Price promotions for food and beverage products in a nationwide sample of food stores. Prev Med. 2016; 86:106-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.01.011. View

Coccurello R, Maccarrone M . Hedonic Eating and the "Delicious Circle": From Lipid-Derived Mediators to Brain Dopamine and Back. Front Neurosci. 2018; 12:271. PMC: 5928395. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00271. View

Paquet C, Daniel M, Knauper B, Gauvin L, Kestens Y, Dube L . Interactive effects of reward sensitivity and residential fast-food restaurant exposure on fast-food consumption. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010; 91(3):771-6. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28648. View

Hu F . Resolved: there is sufficient scientific evidence that decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption will reduce the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Obes Rev. 2013; 14(8):606-19. PMC: 5325726. DOI: 10.1111/obr.12040. View

Franken I, Muris P . Individual differences in reward sensitivity are related to food craving and relative body weight in healthy women. Appetite. 2005; 45(2):198-201. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2005.04.004. View

ORahilly S, Farooqi I . Human obesity: a heritable neurobehavioral disorder that is highly sensitive to environmental conditions. Diabetes. 2008; 57(11):2905-10. PMC: 2570383. DOI: 10.2337/db08-0210. View

10.

Malik V, Pan A, Willett W, Hu F . Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013; 98(4):1084-102. PMC: 3778861. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.058362. View

11.

Lopez A, Seligman H . Online grocery store coupons and unhealthy foods, United States. Prev Chronic Dis. 2014; 11:130211. PMC: 3887050. DOI: 10.5888/pcd11.130211. View

12.

Drewnowski A . Nutrient density: addressing the challenge of obesity. Br J Nutr. 2017; 120(s1):S8-S14. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114517002240. View

13.

Han H, Paquet C, Dube L, Nielsen D . Diet Quality and Food Prices Modify Associations between Genetic Susceptibility to Obesity and Adiposity Outcomes. Nutrients. 2020; 12(11). PMC: 7692602. DOI: 10.3390/nu12113349. View

14.

Reznick H, Balch P . The effects of anxiety and response cost manipulations on the eating behavior of obese and normal-weight subjects. Addict Behav. 1977; 2(4):219-25. DOI: 10.1016/0306-4603(77)90020-x. View

15.

Sanchez B, Sanchez-Vaznaugh E, Uscilka A, Baek J, Zhang L . Differential associations between the food environment near schools and childhood overweight across race/ethnicity, gender, and grade. Am J Epidemiol. 2012; 175(12):1284-93. PMC: 3372311. DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwr454. View

16.

Saelens B, Epstein L . Reinforcing value of food in obese and non-obese women. Appetite. 1996; 27(1):41-50. DOI: 10.1006/appe.1996.0032. View

17.

Giesen J, Havermans R, Douven A, Tekelenburg M, Jansen A . Will work for snack food: the association of BMI and snack reinforcement. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010; 18(5):966-70. DOI: 10.1038/oby.2010.20. View

18.

Davis C, Strachan S, Berkson M . Sensitivity to reward: implications for overeating and overweight. Appetite. 2004; 42(2):131-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2003.07.004. View

19.

Welsh J, Sharma A, Abramson J, Vaccarino V, Gillespie C, Vos M . Caloric sweetener consumption and dyslipidemia among US adults. JAMA. 2010; 303(15):1490-7. PMC: 3045262. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2010.449. View

20.

Mozaffarian D, Hao T, Rimm E, Willett W, Hu F . Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men. N Engl J Med. 2011; 364(25):2392-404. PMC: 3151731. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1014296. View