Most food retailers display foods in prominent locations as a marketing strategy (i.e. ‘placement promotions’). We examined the extent to which households with children change their food and beverage purchases in response to these promotions.

We analysed a novel dataset of all products promoted in two supermarkets from 2016 to 2017, including promotion dates and locations (e.g. aisle endcaps and front registers). We linked promotions to all purchases from the supermarkets from 2016 to 2017 by a cohort of households with children. We calculated the number of weekly promotions in each of thirteen food and beverage groups (e.g. bread; candy) and used fixed effects regressions to estimate associations between number of weekly promotions and households’ weekly food purchases, overall and by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation.

Two large supermarkets in Maine, USA.

Eight hundred and twenty-one households with children.

Most promotions (74 %) were for less healthy foods. The most promoted food groups were sweet and salty snacks (mean = 131·0 promotions/week), baked goods (mean = 68·2) and sugar-sweetened beverages (mean = 41·6). Households generally did not change their food group purchases during weeks when they were exposed to more promotions for those groups, except that a 1-sd increase in endcap candy promotions (about 1 promotion/week) was associated with $0·19/week (about 14·5 %) increase in candy purchases among SNAP nonparticipants (adjusted P < 0·001).

In-store placement promotions for food groups were generally not associated with purchases of promoted food groups, perhaps because exposure to unhealthy food marketing was consistently high. Substantial changes to in-store food marketing may be needed to promote healthier purchases.

To examine food and beverage purchasing patterns across formal and informal outlets among Mexican households’ and explore differences by urbanicity and income.

Cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of households. We calculated the proportion of total food and beverage expenditure in each household by food outlet type overall and by urbanicity and income. We defined informal outlets as those which are not registered or regulated by tax and fiscal laws. Since some of the outlets within community food environments do not fall in clear categories, we defined a continuum from formal to informal outlets, adding mixed outlets as a category.

Mexico.

Mexican households (n 74 203) from the 2018 National Income and Expenditure Survey.

Of the total food and beverage purchases, outlets within the formal food sector (i.e. supermarkets and convenience stores) accounted for 15 % of the purchases, 13 % of purchases occurred in outlets within the informal food sector (i.e. street markets, street vendors and acquaintances) and 70 % in fiscally mixed outlets (i.e. small neighbourhood stores, specialty stores and public markets). Across levels of urbanicity and income, most food and beverage purchases occurred in mixed outlets. Also, purchases in informal and mixed outlets decreased as levels of urbanicity and income increased. In contrast to informal outlets, purchases in formal outlets were most likely from richer households and living in larger sized cities.

Understanding where Mexican households shop for food is relevant to create tailored interventions according to food outlet type, accounting for regulatory and governance structures.

The Food Quality Observatory was created in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 2016. In this study, the Observatory aimed to generate a methodology to (1) test the use of sales data combined with nutrient values to characterise the nutritional composition of ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals offered and purchased in the province of Quebec (Canada) and (2) verify the extent to which a front-of-pack label based on the percentage of daily value (DV) for total sugar, as a strategy to improve the food supply, would be distributed in this food category.

Nutritional information were obtained by purchasing each RTE breakfast cereal available in the Greater Montreal area. Cereals were then classified according to their processing type.

The nutritional values of 331 RTE breakfast cereals available in Quebec were merged with sales data covering the period between May 2016 and May 2017. A total of 306 products were successfully cross-referenced.

Granola and sweetened cereals were the most available (36·6 % and 19·6 %, respectively) and purchased (19·8 % and 40·9 % of sales, respectively). When compared with other types of cereals, granola cereals had a higher energy, fat, saturated fat, protein content and a lower Na content. A larger proportion of chocolate (65 %) and sweetened cereals (49 %) were above 15 % of the DV for sugar.

This study showed that the methodology developed generates important data to monitor nutritional quality of the food supply and ultimately contribute to improve the nutritional quality of processed foods.

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.

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).

Household panel survey.

Approximately 60 000 households each year from the USA.

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.

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.

The current study aimed to (i) describe racial/ethnic disparities in household food and beverage purchases among participants and non-participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and (ii) examine longitudinal associations between SNAP participation and purchases by race/ethnicity.

To describe disparities, we estimated sociodemographic-adjusted mean purchases of seven unhealthy food and beverage groups (e.g. junk food, sugar-sweetened beverages) and four nutrients (e.g. sugar, Na) among white, black and Hispanic SNAP-participating and non-participating households. To examine longitudinal associations, we used multivariable linear regression with household fixed effects.

USA, 2010–2014.

Food and beverage purchases among low-income (≤250 % federal poverty line) US households (n 30 403) participating in the Nielsen Homescan Panel.

Among non-participants, there were significant black–white disparities (i.e. differences favouring white households) in households’ adjusted mean purchases of processed meat, sweeteners, sugar-sweetened beverages, energy and Na. These disparities persisted among SNAP participants. In contrast, the only significant Hispanic–white disparity among non-participants was for Na purchases; this disparity was reduced in magnitude and no longer significant among SNAP-participating households. Additionally, Hispanic households purchased less energy from junk foods than white households, regardless of SNAP status. In longitudinal models accounting for household fixed effects, SNAP participation was associated with increased energy purchased among black households. No other significant longitudinal associations between SNAP and purchase outcomes were observed.

SNAP may not be meeting its potential to improve food and beverage purchases or reduce disparities. Research is needed to identify strategies for ensuring nutritious purchases across all racial/ethnic groups.

To examine the potential links between activity spaces, the food retail environment and food shopping behaviours for the population of young, urban adults.

Participants took part in the Canada Food Study, which collected information on demographics, food behaviour, diet and health, as well as an additional smartphone study that included a seven-day period of logging GPS (global positioning system) location and food purchases. Using a time-weighted, continuous representation of participant activity spaces generated from GPS trajectory data, the locations of food purchases and a geocoded food retail data set, negative binomial regression models were used to explore what types of food retailers participants were exposed to and where food purchases were made.

Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax, Canada.

Young adults aged 16–30 years (n 496). These participants were a subset of the larger Canada Food Study.

Demographics, household food shopper status and city of residence were significantly associated with different levels of exposure to various types of food retailers. Food shopping behaviours were also statistically significantly associated with demographics, the activity space-based food environment, self-reported health and city of residence.

The study confirms that food behaviours are related to activity space-based food environment measures, which provide a more comprehensive accounting of food retail exposure than home-based measures. In addition, exposure to food retail and food purchasing behaviours of an understudied population are described.

Improving diet quality is a key factor for promoting population health. Social norms can support or undermine these efforts. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between seasonal variation in food purchases and BMI.

The study population comprises members of a South African health promotion programme. Data come from scanner data of food purchases by 400 000 enrolled households at supermarkets and repeated individual surveys (about 500 000 participants) between 2009 and 2013.

Members in the health promotion programme spent 16·7 % of total food expenditure on nutritionally undesirable foods (sugar-sweetened beverages, candy, ice cream, etc.) and 24·7 % on healthy foods (fruit/vegetables, whole grains, non-fat dairy, etc.). Fruits and vegetables accounted for 13·5 % of purchases (half of all healthy food spending). Yet there were pronounced seasonal variations, with December being the peak month for unhealthy food purchases, which were 40 % higher than in January. This holiday peak was associated with short-term weight gain, but average body mass did not revert to pre-holiday levels. From 2009 to 2013, respondents gained about 0·13 BMI units per year (0·43 kg for men, 0·30 for women). From November to January alone, the increase was 0·1 BMI units for men (0·35 kg) and 0·8 BMI units for women (0·20 kg).

Purchases of nutritionally undesirable foods peak in December and are accompanied by weight gain from November to January. Despite weight loss after January, the November to January weight gain accounts for 60–70 % of the annual gain.

Snacks, stress and parties all contribute to the weight gain – the elusive ‘Freshman 15’ – that some college-goers unfortunately experience. The present study examines how à la carte snack choice changes on a university campus during each progressing week of the academic calendar.

How à la carte snack choices change on a university campus with each progressing week of the academic calendar was examined.

The data were collected from three large cafeterias (or dining halls) on Cornell University's campus during four semesters (Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007 and Spring 2008), for 18 weeks in each semester.

After the à la carte snack items were divided into healthy snacks and unhealthy snacks, the percentage share for each food category was calculated.

Within each semester, the unhealthy snack food choices increased consistently by 0·4 % per week (β = 0·00418, P < 0·01). Furthermore, a sharp (8 %) increase occurred in the final two weeks of the semester. In contrast, healthy snack food choices decreased by almost 4 % (β = −0·0408, P < 0·01) in the final two weeks during the fall semester.

These results demonstrate an increased demand for hedonic, or unhealthy, snack foods as the college semester progresses and in particular at the very end of the semester. To counter this tendency towards unhealthy snacking, cafeterias and stores should make extra effort to promote healthy alternatives during the later weeks of the semester.

The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of food advertising in primary and secondary schools on the food purchasing habits of children.

All forty-four primary and secondary schools in Rzeszow, Poland were included in the investigation; 15 000 children attend primary and secondary schools in the region. Schools were visited by members of the research team, who filled in a questionnaire regarding the type of food products displayed or advertised in the school shop window and recorded the presence of direct corporate advertising in the proximity of the school shop. Shop owners were asked to fill in a form describing food purchases by students within the week preceding the visit. The school principal (or one of teachers) completed a form describing the school’s policy regarding food advertising and the sponsorship of school activities by food companies.

Recommended foods like milk, yoghurts and fruit were offered by only 40·9 % of shops. There was a correlation between foods offered in the shop and foods purchased by students. In schools, 40·9 % (95 % CI 25·8, 56·0 %) of shop windows displayed or advertised ‘healthy’ foods while 9·1 % (95 % CI 0·0, 17·9 %) of shops displayed advertisements of food companies. The difference between display of ‘healthy’ food in shop windows and display of food on company advertisements was significant (likelihood ratio χ2 test, P < 0·04). Type of school (primary v. secondary) was not significant factor in advertising or purchasing pattern.

Educational programmes should be introduced in schools with the aim of improving the understanding of nutritional principles among pupils, teachers and parents.