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Longitudinal study of the effects of price and promotion incentives on purchases of unhealthy foods: evidence for restricting food promotions.
Kopasker, D, Ejebu, OZ, Norwood, P, Ludbrook, A
BMJ nutrition, prevention & health. 2022;5(1):62-71
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The European Commission and WHO have updated their approach to addressing obesity and promoting healthy eating among the general population. Foods that are high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt provide little nutritional value and are calorie dense. Price interventions, like the levy introduced by the UK government, have effectively reduced consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks. Both the UK and Scottish governments have recently proposed legislation to restrict the promotion of unhealthy foods. This longitudinal regression analysis assessed the consumer microdata over time to determine the effectiveness of price, price promotions, and volume promotions in predicting reductions in household purchases of high-fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) foods. The results revealed that in-store promotions led to a significant increase in household purchasing. Volume promotions were more effective than price promotions, but they resulted in greater calorie intake per household. Additionally, there were significant differences in purchasing behaviour and income levels of households. Households with children tended to purchase more than those without. These findings suggest that policies aimed at limiting promotions may help reduce household purchases and consumption of HFSS foods. Healthcare professionals can utilise the outcomes of this review to comprehend the correlation between price and volume promotions on household buying and consumption of HFSS foods.
Abstract
Objectives: Taxes and restrictions on promotions have recently been proposed as policy instruments to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods. The objective of this study is to add to the limited evidence on the comparative effectiveness of price changes, price promotions and volume promotions in changing household purchasing of unhealthy foods, using biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks as examples. Design: Longitudinal regression analysis of consumer microdata. Setting: Secondary data on itemised household purchases of biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks from 2006 to 2012. Participants: Sample of 3024 households in Scotland. Main outcome measures: Changes in the number of calories (kcal) purchased in the product category by a household caused by changes in the price for the product category, any temporary in-store price promotions and any temporary in-store volume promotions. Changes are measured at the mean, median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile of the household purchasing distribution for the full sample. Subgroup analyses were conducted by household income band and for households with and without children. Results: Between product categories, the scale of purchasing response to incentives varies significantly. Within product categories, the mean calories (kcal) purchased by a household are more responsive to any volume promotion than to price or any price promotion for all product categories. As the volume of items purchased increases, households are less responsive to price, less responsive to any volume promotion and more responsive to any price promotion. Statistically significant differences are observed between household income groups in their response to price and promotion incentives within the biscuits category only. In cases where statistically significant differences are observed, households with children are more responsive to promotion and price incentives than households without children. Conclusions: For all product categories analysed (biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks), household purchasing is most responsive to any volume promotion. Therefore, assuming the response of consumers to incentives remains constant following legislation, the most effective policy instrument to reduce the calorie intake from these products may be a ban on volume promotions.
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Effectiveness of a Multicomponent Intervention in Primary Care That Addresses Patients with Diabetes Mellitus with Two or More Unhealthy Habits, Such as Diet, Physical Activity or Smoking: Multicenter Randomized Cluster Trial (EIRA Study).
Represas-Carrera, F, Couso-Viana, S, Méndez-López, F, Masluk, B, Magallón-Botaya, R, Recio-Rodríguez, JI, Pombo, H, Leiva-Rus, A, Gil-Girbau, M, Motrico, E, et al
International journal of environmental research and public health. 2021;18(11)
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Life habits such as smoking, physical activity, and diet affect glycaemic control. The objective of this multicentre randomised cluster trial (EIRA study) was to evaluate the effectiveness of multicomponent educational interventions on glycaemic control in Type 2 diabetic patients. Interventions in multicomponent individual, group and community settings included smoking cessation, the Mediterranean diet and physical activity, as well as an assessment of the quality of life. Participants had unhealthy lifestyles prior to the intervention. The study was conducted in 26 primary healthcare centres in seven health departments in Spain over a period of 12 months. A brief intervention aimed to change the habits of the participants, including increasing physical activity, quitting smoking and adhering to the Mediterranean diet. After 12 months of intervention, there were no statistically significant improvements in glycaemic control, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, or quality of life. However, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was statistically significant. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of multicomponent interventions in improving glycaemic control. The clinical applicability of multicomponent interventions to tackle type 2 diabetes, obesity, and unhealthy lifestyles should be considered by healthcare providers.
Abstract
Introduction: We evaluated the effectiveness of an individual, group and community intervention to improve the glycemic control of patients with diabetes mellitus aged 45-75 years with two or three unhealthy life habits. As secondary endpoints, we evaluated the inverventions' effectiveness on adhering to Mediterranean diet, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and quality of life. Method: A randomized clinical cluster (health centers) trial with two parallel groups in Spain from January 2016 to December 2019 was used. Patients with diabetes mellitus aged 45-75 years with two unhealthy life habits or more (smoking, not adhering to Mediterranean diet or little physical activity) participated. Centers were randomly assigned. The sample size was estimated to be 420 people for the main outcome variable. Educational intervention was done to improve adherence to Mediterranean diet, physical activity and smoking cessation by individual, group and community interventions for 12 months. Controls received the usual health care. The outcome variables were: HbA1c (main), the Mediterranean diet adherence score (MEDAS), the international diet quality index (DQI-I), the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ), sedentary lifestyle, smoking ≥1 cigarette/day and the EuroQuol questionnaire (EVA-EuroQol5D5L). Results: In total, 13 control centers (n = 356) and 12 intervention centers (n = 338) were included with similar baseline conditions. An analysis for intention-to-treat was done by applying multilevel mixed models fitted by basal values and the health center: the HbA1c adjusted mean difference = -0.09 (95% CI: -0.29-0.10), the DQI-I adjusted mean difference = 0.25 (95% CI: -0.32-0.82), the MEDAS adjusted mean difference = 0.45 (95% CI: 0.01-0.89), moderate/high physical activity OR = 1.09 (95% CI: 0.64-1.86), not living a sedentary lifestyle OR = 0.97 (95% CI: 0.55-1.73), no smoking OR = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.54-1.06), EVA adjusted mean difference = -1.26 (95% CI: -4.98-2.45). Conclusions: No statistically significant changes were found for either glycemic control or physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and quality of life. The multicomponent individual, group and community interventions only showed a statistically significant improvement in adhering to Mediterranean diet. Such innovative interventions need further research to demonstrate their effectiveness in patients with poor glycemic control.