Effectiveness of an online food shopping intervention to reduce salt purchases among individuals with hypertension - findings of the SaltSwitch Online Grocery Shopping (OGS) randomised trial.

Background: Online grocery shopping is a growing source of food purchases in many countries. We investigated the effect of nudging consumers towards purchases of lower sodium products using a web browser extension.

Methods: This trial was conducted among individuals with hypertension who shopped for their groceries online in Australia.

Food environments in the Pacific region and efforts to improve them: a scoping review.

Objective: To understand the characteristics of food environments in the Pacific region, and the broader economic, policy and sociocultural surroundings that influence food choices and interventions to improve food environments for Pacific communities.

Design: Systematic searches were conducted for articles related to food environments or factors influencing food choices from 1993 to 2024 in five academic databases, Google, Google Scholar and relevant organisations' websites. Studies were included if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Healthiness of food products promoted through placement strategies in Australian online supermarkets: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Prominent product placement is a core promotional tactic in retail food environments. How this practice has been adapted for online supermarkets, and the extent to which it is applied to healthier and less healthy food products in this setting, is largely unknown. We aimed to investigate placement-type promotions of food products in Australian online supermarkets.

Understanding parents' perceptions of children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing in digital and retail environments.

Unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing (UFM) adversely impacts children's selection and intake of foods and beverages, undermining parents' efforts to promote healthy eating. Parents' support for restrictions on children's exposure to food marketing can catalyse government action, yet research describing parent concerns is limited for media other than television. We examined parents' perceptions of UFM and their views on potential policies to address UFM in supermarkets and on digital devices - two settings where children are highly exposed to UFM and where little recent research exists.

Use of online food delivery services among adults in five countries from the International Food Policy Study 2018-2021.

Aim: Online food delivery services (OFDS) are popular for purchasing meals prepared outside home, increasing access to energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods. This adversely impacts dietary choices and health outcomes. Our study examined trends in OFDS use in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) from 2018 to 2021.

Knowledge of gendered needs among the planners and policy makers for prevention of NCDs in Bangladesh: a qualitative exploration.

Background: Globally, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly the primary cause of mortality and morbidity among women. Like many developing countries, Bangladesh also faces a growing burden of NCDs. The "Multisectoral Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, 2018-2025" signifies Bangladesh's commitment to comprehensively combating the rising burden of NCDs.

A systems framework for implementing healthy food retail in grocery settings.

Background: Food retailers can be reluctant to initiate healthy food retail activities in the face of a complex set of interrelated drivers that impact the retail environment. The Systems Thinking Approach for Retail Transformation (START) is a determinants framework created using qualitative systems modelling to guide healthy food retail interventions in community-based, health-promoting settings. We aimed to test the applicability of the START map to a suite of distinct healthy food marketing and promotion activities that formed an intervention in a grocery setting in regional Victoria, Australia.

A Scoping Review of Studies Evaluating the Healthiness of Street Food Vendors.

Purpose Of Review: This scoping review investigates the available tools for monitoring the healthiness of the food sold at street food outlets globally.

Recent Findings: Several tools were identified that have been used to evaluate the healthiness of street food outlets; however, these tools are not applicable globally, do not provide simple measures for evaluating the healthiness of foods sold, and generally have not been used across more than one study. The development of a comprehensive tool for measuring the healthiness of the street food environment that can be used across different jurisdictions and with different levels of resourcing is essential in order to understand the current street food environment and how it changes over time.

The association between body weight indices, behavioral factors, and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based epidemiological studies.

Background And Aim: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a significant public health concern in Africa. While the associations between modifiable risk factors and T2DM are likely to be Africa-specific, their overall estimations have not been published. This study aimed to use systematic and meta-analytic methods to examine the strength of associations between modifiable risk factors and T2DM in Africa.

Association between urban-rural location and prevalence of type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in West Africa: a cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study.

Objectives: We investigated the association between urban/rural location and both type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and pre-diabetes among populations of five West African countries.

Design: Cross-sectional studies, using the WHO Stepwise (STEPs) survey data.

Setting: National representative data of both urban and rural areas from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia and Mali.

Perceptions towards unhealthy food sponsorship in junior sports in Victoria, Australia.

Objective: To explore Victorian parents' and club officials' engagement with, and attitudes towards, the sponsorship of junior sports by unhealthy food and beverage companies.

Methods: We conducted online surveys with 504 parents of children participating in junior sports and 16 semi-structured interviews with junior sports club officials (from clubs that accepted unhealthy food sponsorship) in Victoria, Australia.

Results: Most parents were concerned about children's exposure to sponsorship by unhealthy local (58% extremely, very or moderately concerned) and large food companies (63%) in junior sports.

Public Support for Nutrition-Related Actions by Food Companies in Australia: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Findings from the 2020 International Food Policy Study.

Unhealthy food environments contribute to unhealthy population diets. In Australia, the government currently relies on voluntary food company actions (e.g.

Awareness, use and understanding of nutrition labels among adults from five countries: Findings from the 2018-2020 International Food Policy Study.

Few studies have compared the effects of different front-of-package label (FOPL) systems in the 'real world'. This study assessed adults' awareness, use and understanding of nutrition facts labels (NFLs) and nationally implemented FOPLs such as Health Star Ratings (HSR), Traffic lights, and Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) in five countries, including before and after implementation of Mexico's warning FOPLs in 2020. Data were from the International Food Policy Study, an annual repeat cross-sectional study conducted in 2018-2020 among adults (N=64,032) in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK and the US.

Food industry perspectives on potential policies targeting unhealthy food and beverage price promotions in Australian supermarkets.

Current supermarket price promotions are likely to encourage unhealthy diets, leading some governments to recently endorse restrictions on price promotions for unhealthy food and beverages. However, little is known about the likely industry response to policy action in this area. The aim of this study was to understand how potential government policies targeting food and beverage price promotions in supermarkets are perceived by food industry stakeholders in Australia.

Protocol for a novel sodium and blood pressure reduction intervention targeting online grocery shoppers with hypertension - the SaltSwitch Online Grocery Shopping randomized trial.

Background: High dietary sodium intake is a leading cause of hypertension. A major source of dietary sodium is salt added to processed food products available in retail food environments. The fast-growing online grocery shopping setting provides new opportunities for salt reduction interventions that support consumers in choosing healthier options.

Effect of age and sex on the associations between potential modifiable risk factors and both type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glycaemia among West African adults.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is becoming one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, including among Africans. Knowledge of the association between traditional risk factors and both diabetes and pre-diabetes, and whether these differ by age and sex, is important for designing targeted interventions. However, little is known about these associations for African populations.

Cost-Benefit and Cost-Utility Analyses to Demonstrate the Potential Value-for-Money of Supermarket Shelf Tags Promoting Healthier Packaged Products in Australia.

The supermarket environment impacts the healthiness of food purchased and consumed. Shelf tags that alert customers to healthier packaged products can improve the healthiness of overall purchases. This study assessed the potential value-for-money of implementing a three-year shelf tag intervention across all major supermarket chains in Australia.

Self-Reported Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Diet-Related Behaviors and Food Security in 5 Countries: Results from the International Food Policy Study 2020.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted many aspects of daily life, including dietary intake; however, few studies have reported its impacts on dietary behaviors and food security across multiple countries.

Objectives: We examined self-reported impacts of COVID-19 on food behaviors, food security, and overall diet healthfulness in 5 countries.

Methods: Adults aged 18-100 years (n = 20,554) in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States completed an online survey in November and December 2020 as part of the International Food Policy Study, an annual, repeat cross-sectional survey.

Consumption Frequency and Purchase Locations of Foods Prepared Outside the Home in Australia: 2018 International Food Policy Study.

Background: Foods prepared outside the home (e.g., fast-food chains, restaurants) represent increasing proportions of diets worldwide, and have been associated with higher energy intakes and BMIs.

A Proposed Research Agenda for Promoting Healthy Retail Food Environments in the East Asia-Pacific Region.

Purpose Of Review: This paper aimed to summarise existing literature on strategies to improve the healthiness of retail food environments in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, and propose a prioritised research agenda on this topic.

Recent Findings: Little research on retail food environments has been conducted in the EAP region. Several approaches for measuring retail food environments were identified, although none have been tailored to the EAP context.

A Systematic Review of Health Promotion Programs to Improve Nutrition for People with Intellectual Disability.

Purpose Of Review: To investigate the type and effectiveness of health promotion programs designed to improve nutrition for people with intellectual disability. This review also sought to highlight gaps in the evidence by mapping interventions to the socio-ecological model.

Recent Findings: To date, reviews on health promotion programs for people with intellectual disability have focused on individualised weight management interventions and behaviour change techniques.