- Email: [email protected]
Healthy supermarkets: Zoning for healthy food choices
p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 6 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 4 5 4 e4 5 5
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Public Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/puhe
Letter to the Editor
Healthy supermarkets: Zoning for healthy food choices
At the UK Faculty of Public Health’s Annual Conference, held at the University of Birmingham in July 2011, I attended a workshop entitled ‘The new players in public health: can industry solve the big public health challenges?’ While listening to the excellent debate during this session, I was struck by the statistic quoted by one of the speakers that only about one-quarter of UK shoppers at supermarkets read nutrition labels on food products. These normally carry information on calorie, protein, carbohydrate and fat content of the foodstuff.1 Additional data on saturated fat, sugars, sodium, salt and fibre may also be recorded. These facts are given per 100 g and sometimes per food portion. A review conducted on behalf of the UK Food Standards Agency in 20072 was more positive, suggesting that over half of consumers actually read food labels before buying products, although it did qualify this by adding that this included those who just check the ‘best before date’. It gave the main reason why people do not read food labels as lack of time; another finding was that women, especially mothers with higher levels of education and income, were most likely to read them. Those who are on lower incomes are less likely to read labels, meaning that they are disadvantaged in making healthy food choices. This set me thinking as to how supermarkets could make the choice of healthy foodstuffs easier for busy consumers. According to the literature, there are a number of factors that influence what consumers buy; these can be summarized as the ‘four P’s of marketing’ e product, placement, price and promotion.3 Placement includes the location of products and the general store layout. Public health zoning on a macro-level has been suggested as a way of restricting alcohol availability by controlling the location and density of alcohol retailers, or to reduce obesity by restricting fast food outlets.4 I suggest that this intervention could be used on a micro-level within supermarkets to promote healthy food choices. There do seem to be some case studies in the literature3 where healthy children’s snack zones have been created in stores, or unhealthy products have been moved from the front to the back of supermarkets, but not where systematic zoning of products has been applied. Recommendations on what constitutes a healthy diet5 include: basing meals on starchy foods such as potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice and bread (wholegrain where possible);
consuming lots of fruit and vegetables; eating more fish; and cutting down on saturated fat, sugar and salt. The product range of a supermarket could be physically subdivided into four zones, clearly visible to the consumer, based on these recommendations. The first zone, designated the ‘most healthy’, should be located nearest to the store entrance. This would carry starchy food as above, fruit and vegetables, as well as other staples such as eggs, dairy products, meat and fish. The second zone should contain other basic provisions judged low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar, as well as healthy beverages such as fruit juices. The third zone would contain processed foods high in fat (especially trans fats), saturated fat, salt or sugar. The final zone, furthest away from the shopper, would comprise all alcoholic beverages, because of their detrimental impact on health.6 In fact, many UK supermarkets already locate fruit and vegetables near to the store entrance and alcoholic beverages furthest away, so they are part way there already. Local authority planning departments could require supermarkets to zone their products in this way, as well as ensuring compliance. This would definitely be a constructive contribution by industry to the promotion of public health and the reduction of health inequalities in the UK. Food for thought?
references
1. NHS Choices. Food labels. London: NHS Choices; 2011. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/foodlabelling.aspx [accessed 30.11.11]. 2. EdComs. Review and analysis of current literature on consumer understanding of nutrition and health claims made on food. London: EdComs; 2007. Available at: http://www.food.gov.uk/ multimedia/pdfs/healthclaims.pdf [accessed 30.11.11]. 3. The Food Trust & the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Harnessing the power of supermarkets to help reverse childhood obesity. Philadelphia & Princeton: The Food Trust & the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; 2011. Available at: http:// www.thefoodtrust.org/pdf/RWJF%20Food%20Trust% 20Supermarket%20Meeting%20FINAL%20electronic%203.28. 11(2).pdf [accessed 30.11.11]. 4. Samia Mair J, Pierce MW, Teret SP. The use of zoning to restrict fast food outlets: a potential strategy to combat obesity. Baltimore & Washington: The Centre for Law and the Public Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities; 2005. Available at:
p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 6 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 4 5 4 e4 5 5
455
School of Medical Sciences, Bangor University, United Kingdom
http://www.publichealthlaw.net/Zoning%20Fast%20Food% 20Outlets.pdf [accessed 30.11.11]. 5. NHS Choices. Eight tips for healthy eating. London: NHS Choices; 2010. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/ Pages/eight-tips-healthy-eating.aspx [accessed 30.11.11]. 6. Faculty of Public Health. Alcohol & public health: position statement. London: Faculty of Public Health; 2008. Available at: http://www. fph.org.uk/uploads/ps_alcohol.pdf [accessed 30.11.11].
*Tel.: þ44 1248 675885. E-mail address: [email protected]
R.L. Atenstaedt* Public Health Wales, Abergele Hospital, Llanfair Road, Abergele Conwy LL22 8DP, United Kingdom
0033-3506/$ e see front matter ª 2012 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2012.01.019
Available online 6 April 2012
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Public Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/puhe
Letter to the Editor
Healthy supermarkets: Zoning for healthy food choices
At the UK Faculty of Public Health’s Annual Conference, held at the University of Birmingham in July 2011, I attended a workshop entitled ‘The new players in public health: can industry solve the big public health challenges?’ While listening to the excellent debate during this session, I was struck by the statistic quoted by one of the speakers that only about one-quarter of UK shoppers at supermarkets read nutrition labels on food products. These normally carry information on calorie, protein, carbohydrate and fat content of the foodstuff.1 Additional data on saturated fat, sugars, sodium, salt and fibre may also be recorded. These facts are given per 100 g and sometimes per food portion. A review conducted on behalf of the UK Food Standards Agency in 20072 was more positive, suggesting that over half of consumers actually read food labels before buying products, although it did qualify this by adding that this included those who just check the ‘best before date’. It gave the main reason why people do not read food labels as lack of time; another finding was that women, especially mothers with higher levels of education and income, were most likely to read them. Those who are on lower incomes are less likely to read labels, meaning that they are disadvantaged in making healthy food choices. This set me thinking as to how supermarkets could make the choice of healthy foodstuffs easier for busy consumers. According to the literature, there are a number of factors that influence what consumers buy; these can be summarized as the ‘four P’s of marketing’ e product, placement, price and promotion.3 Placement includes the location of products and the general store layout. Public health zoning on a macro-level has been suggested as a way of restricting alcohol availability by controlling the location and density of alcohol retailers, or to reduce obesity by restricting fast food outlets.4 I suggest that this intervention could be used on a micro-level within supermarkets to promote healthy food choices. There do seem to be some case studies in the literature3 where healthy children’s snack zones have been created in stores, or unhealthy products have been moved from the front to the back of supermarkets, but not where systematic zoning of products has been applied. Recommendations on what constitutes a healthy diet5 include: basing meals on starchy foods such as potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice and bread (wholegrain where possible);
consuming lots of fruit and vegetables; eating more fish; and cutting down on saturated fat, sugar and salt. The product range of a supermarket could be physically subdivided into four zones, clearly visible to the consumer, based on these recommendations. The first zone, designated the ‘most healthy’, should be located nearest to the store entrance. This would carry starchy food as above, fruit and vegetables, as well as other staples such as eggs, dairy products, meat and fish. The second zone should contain other basic provisions judged low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar, as well as healthy beverages such as fruit juices. The third zone would contain processed foods high in fat (especially trans fats), saturated fat, salt or sugar. The final zone, furthest away from the shopper, would comprise all alcoholic beverages, because of their detrimental impact on health.6 In fact, many UK supermarkets already locate fruit and vegetables near to the store entrance and alcoholic beverages furthest away, so they are part way there already. Local authority planning departments could require supermarkets to zone their products in this way, as well as ensuring compliance. This would definitely be a constructive contribution by industry to the promotion of public health and the reduction of health inequalities in the UK. Food for thought?
references
1. NHS Choices. Food labels. London: NHS Choices; 2011. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/foodlabelling.aspx [accessed 30.11.11]. 2. EdComs. Review and analysis of current literature on consumer understanding of nutrition and health claims made on food. London: EdComs; 2007. Available at: http://www.food.gov.uk/ multimedia/pdfs/healthclaims.pdf [accessed 30.11.11]. 3. The Food Trust & the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Harnessing the power of supermarkets to help reverse childhood obesity. Philadelphia & Princeton: The Food Trust & the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; 2011. Available at: http:// www.thefoodtrust.org/pdf/RWJF%20Food%20Trust% 20Supermarket%20Meeting%20FINAL%20electronic%203.28. 11(2).pdf [accessed 30.11.11]. 4. Samia Mair J, Pierce MW, Teret SP. The use of zoning to restrict fast food outlets: a potential strategy to combat obesity. Baltimore & Washington: The Centre for Law and the Public Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities; 2005. Available at:
p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 6 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 4 5 4 e4 5 5
455
School of Medical Sciences, Bangor University, United Kingdom
http://www.publichealthlaw.net/Zoning%20Fast%20Food% 20Outlets.pdf [accessed 30.11.11]. 5. NHS Choices. Eight tips for healthy eating. London: NHS Choices; 2010. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/ Pages/eight-tips-healthy-eating.aspx [accessed 30.11.11]. 6. Faculty of Public Health. Alcohol & public health: position statement. London: Faculty of Public Health; 2008. Available at: http://www. fph.org.uk/uploads/ps_alcohol.pdf [accessed 30.11.11].
*Tel.: þ44 1248 675885. E-mail address: [email protected]
R.L. Atenstaedt* Public Health Wales, Abergele Hospital, Llanfair Road, Abergele Conwy LL22 8DP, United Kingdom
0033-3506/$ e see front matter ª 2012 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2012.01.019
Available online 6 April 2012