Facilitating Healthier Eating at Restaurants: A Multidisciplinary Scoping Review Comparing Strategies, Barriers, Motivators, and Outcomes by Restaurant Type and Initiator

Melissa Fuster, Margaret A. Handley, Tamara Alam, Lee Ann Fullington, Brian Elbel, Krishnendu Ray and Terry T-K Huang
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Melissa Fuster: Department of Health and Nutrition Science, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11210, USA
Margaret A. Handley: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
Tamara Alam: Department of Health and Nutrition Science, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11210, USA
Lee Ann Fullington: Library, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11210, USA
Brian Elbel: Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
Krishnendu Ray: Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
Terry T-K Huang: Department of Community Health and Social Sciences and Center for Systems and Community Design, City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY 10027, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: Restaurants are understudied yet increasingly important food environment institutions for tackling diet-related diseases. This scoping review analyzes research and gray literature (n = 171 records) to assess which healthy eating promotion strategies have been implemented in restaurants and the associated motivations, barriers, and outcomes, compared by restaurant type (corporate/chain vs. independently owned restaurants) and initiator (restaurant-initiated vs. investigator-initiated). We found that the most commonly reported strategy was the increase of generally healthy offerings and the promotion of such offerings. Changes in food availability were more common among corporate restaurants and initiated by restaurants, while environmental facilitators were more commonly initiated by investigators and associated with independently owned restaurants. Aside from those associated with revenue, motivations and barriers for healthy eating promoting strategies varied by restaurant type. While corporate restaurants were also motivated by public health criticism, independently owned restaurants were motivated by interests to improve community health. Revenue concerns were followed by food sourcing issues in corporate restaurants and lack of interest among independently owned restaurants. Among reporting sources, most outcomes were revenue positive. This study shows the need for practice-based evidence and accounting for restaurant business models to tailor interventions and policies for sustained positive changes in these establishments.

Keywords: restaurant; scoping review; food environment; food retail; eating out; nutrition-related diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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