Development and testing of two tools to assess point-of-sale food and beverage marketing to children in restaurants.

Objective: To describe the development and testing of two assessment tools designed to assess exterior (including drive-thru) and interior food and beverage marketing in restaurants with a focus on marketing to children and teens.

Design: A scoping review on restaurant marketing to children was undertaken, followed by expert and government consultations to produce a draft assessment tool. The draft tool was mounted online and further refined into two separate tools: the Canadian Marketing Assessment Tool for Restaurants (CMAT-R) and the CMAT-Photo Coding Tool (CMAT-PCT).

Food environment research in Canada: a rapid review of methodologies and measures deployed between 2010 and 2021.

Numerous research methodologies have been used to examine food environments. Existing reviews synthesizing food environment measures have examined a limited number of domains or settings and none have specifically targeted Canada. This rapid review aimed to 1) map research methodologies and measures that have been used to assess food environments; 2) examine what food environment dimensions and equity related-factors have been assessed; and 3) identify research gaps and priorities to guide future research.

The Influence of the School Neighborhood Food Retail Environment on Unhealthy Food Purchasing Behaviors Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Adolescents are often exposed to food retailers selling unhealthy food items during their lunch breaks and school commutes. This systematic review examines the influence of school neighborhood food retail environments on adolescent food purchasing.

Methods: A systematic search of 6 databases.

The British Columbia Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program Reduces Short-Term Household Food Insecurity Among Adults With Low Incomes: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The British Columbia Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program (BC FMNCP) provides households with low incomes with coupons to purchase healthy foods from farmers' markets.

Objective: To examine the impact of the BC FMNCP on the short-term household food insecurity, malnutrition risk, mental well-being, sense of community (secondary outcomes), and subjective social status (exploratory outcome) of adults with low incomes post-intervention and 16 weeks post-intervention.

Design: Secondary analyses from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial conducted in 2019 that collected data at baseline, post-intervention, and 16 weeks post-intervention.

"No one went into pharmacy … to sell a lot of Coca-Cola. It's just sort of a necessary evil" - Community pharmacists' perceptions of front-of-store sales and ethical tensions in the retail environment.

Background: Community pharmacists are expected to uphold ethical duties to patients and society while maintaining independent businesses or fulfilling expectations of corporate owners. Canadian pharmacy colleges provide only indirect guidance on the retail setting of the profession. Little is known about whether pharmacists identify ethical issues in retail pharmacy or around the sales of non-drug products.