Ksenia Kholina1, Amy Grant2, Madeleine Waddington3, Manfred Egbe1, Shannan Grant4,5, Mikiko Terashima6, Patricia L Williams7,8. 1. Food Action Research Centre (FoodARC) and Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 2. Maritime SPOR Support Unit and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada. 3. Public Health Central Zone, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada. 4. Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Canada. 5. Department of Pediatrics, IWK Health Centre and Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. 6. School of Planning, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. 7. Food Action Research Centre (FoodARC) and Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Patty.Williams@msvu.ca. 8. Healthy Populations Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Patty.Williams@msvu.ca.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This paper examines the retail food environment in grocery and convenience stores across Nova Scotia with specific attention to prominence and promotion of foods and beverages, as well as in-store promotion of foods and beverages to children. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional analysis of data on the availability, price, prominence, and promotion of foods and beverages classified as "healthier" and "less healthy" was undertaken as a part of a Nova Scotia Consumer Food Environment (NS-CFE) project. Data were collected in a random stratified sample of 47 grocery stores and 59 convenience stores by trained research assistants working in pairs using adapted Nutrition Environment Measures Survey Toronto grocery store (NEMS-S) and NEMS Corner Store (NEMS-CS) tools. RESULTS: "Less healthy" snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages were more prominently displayed than "healthier" options with an exception of cereal, at both grocery and convenience stores (all p < 0.001). Coke™ and fruit juice were more expensive than water in both grocery and convenience stores (both p ≤ 0.05). Significantly more child-specific strategies were used to promote "less healthy" compared with "healthier" options in both grocery and convenience stores (both p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Results of this study demonstrate that "less healthy" options are significantly more prominently displayed and more heavily marketed to all Nova Scotians, including children, in the retail food environment compared with items classified as "healthier". These findings indicate that there is a need for comprehensive structural changes to the retail food environment in Nova Scotia, to support population health.
OBJECTIVES: This paper examines the retail food environment in grocery and convenience stores across Nova Scotia with specific attention to prominence and promotion of foods and beverages, as well as in-store promotion of foods and beverages to children. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional analysis of data on the availability, price, prominence, and promotion of foods and beverages classified as "healthier" and "less healthy" was undertaken as a part of a Nova Scotia Consumer Food Environment (NS-CFE) project. Data were collected in a random stratified sample of 47 grocery stores and 59 convenience stores by trained research assistants working in pairs using adapted Nutrition Environment Measures Survey Toronto grocery store (NEMS-S) and NEMS Corner Store (NEMS-CS) tools. RESULTS: "Less healthy" snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages were more prominently displayed than "healthier" options with an exception of cereal, at both grocery and convenience stores (all p < 0.001). Coke™ and fruit juice were more expensive than water in both grocery and convenience stores (both p ≤ 0.05). Significantly more child-specific strategies were used to promote "less healthy" compared with "healthier" options in both grocery and convenience stores (both p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Results of this study demonstrate that "less healthy" options are significantly more prominently displayed and more heavily marketed to all Nova Scotians, including children, in the retail food environment compared with items classified as "healthier". These findings indicate that there is a need for comprehensive structural changes to the retail food environment in Nova Scotia, to support population health.