Healthy Food Procurement Policies and Their Impact

Mark L. Niebylski, Tammy Lu, Norm R. C. Campbell, Joanne Arcand, Alyssa Schermel, Diane Hua, Karen E. Yeates, Sheldon W. Tobe, Patrick A. Twohig, Mary R. L'Abbé and Peter P. Liu
Additional contact information
Mark L. Niebylski: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
Tammy Lu: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
Norm R. C. Campbell: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
Joanne Arcand: Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON M5S3E2, Canada
Alyssa Schermel: Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON M5S3E2, Canada
Diane Hua: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto Bayview Ave. E239, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
Karen E. Yeates: Department of Medicine, Queen's University, 2059 Etherington Hall, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Sheldon W. Tobe: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto Bayview Ave. E239, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
Patrick A. Twohig: Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth St., Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada
Mary R. L'Abbé: Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON M5S3E2, Canada
Peter P. Liu: Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth St., Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: Unhealthy eating is the leading risk for death and disability globally. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for population health interventions. One of the proposed interventions is to ensure healthy foods are available by implementing healthy food procurement policies. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence base assessing the impact of such policies. A comprehensive review was conducted by searching PubMed and Medline for policies that had been implemented and evaluated the impact of food purchases, food consumption, and behaviors towards healthy foods. Thirty-four studies were identified and found to be effective at increasing the availability and purchases of healthy food and decreasing purchases of unhealthy food. Most policies also had other components such as education, price reductions, and health interventions. The multiple gaps in research identified by this review suggest that additional research and ongoing evaluation of food procurement programs is required. Implementation of healthy food procurement policies in schools, worksites, hospitals, care homes, correctional facilities, government institutions, and remote communities increase markers of healthy eating. Prior or simultaneous implementation of ancillary education about healthy eating, and rationale for the policy may be critical success factors and additional research is needed.

Keywords: public policy; health promotion; health; food; non-communicable disease; sodium; sugar; saturated fat; trans fatty acids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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