ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5384-1821
Current Organisation
Université Laval
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-07-2019
DOI: 10.1111/OBR.12878
Abstract: Addressing obesity and improving the diets of populations requires a comprehensive societal response. The need for broad-based action has led to a focus on accountability of the key factors that influence food environments, including the food and beverage industry. This paper describes the Business Impact Assessment-Obesity and population-level nutrition (BIA-Obesity) tool and process for benchmarking food and beverage company policies and practices related to obesity and population-level nutrition at the national level. The methods for BIA-Obesity draw largely from relevant components of the Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI), with specific assessment criteria developed for food and nonalcoholic beverage manufacturers, supermarkets, and chain restaurants, based on international recommendations and evidence of best practices related to each sector. The process for implementing the BIA-Obesity tool involves independent civil society organisations selecting the most prominent food and beverage companies in each country, engaging with the companies to understand their policies and practices, and assessing each company's policies and practices across six domains. The domains include: "corporate strategy," "product formulation," "nutrition labelling," "product and brand promotion," "product accessibility," and "relationships with other organisations." Assessment of company policies is based on their level of transparency, comprehensiveness, and specificity, with reference to best practice.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 17-07-2020
Abstract: Online food delivery services like Just Eat and Grubhub facilitate online ordering and home delivery of food prepared away-from-home. It is poorly understood how these services are used and by whom. This study investigated the prevalence of online food delivery service use and sociodemographic characteristics of customers, in and across Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and the USA. We analyzed online survey data (n = 19,378) from the International Food Policy Study, conducted in 2018. We identified respondents who reported any online food delivery service use in the past 7 days and calculated the frequency of use and number of meals ordered. We investigated whether odds of any online food delivery service use in the past 7 days differed by sociodemographic characteristics using adjusted logistic regression. Overall, 15% of respondents (n = 2929) reported online food delivery service use, with the greatest prevalence amongst respondents in Mexico (n = 839 (26%)). Online food delivery services had most frequently been used once and the median number of meals purchased through this mode of order was two. Odds of any online food delivery service use were lower per additional year of age (OR: 0.95 95% CI: 0.94, 0.95) and greater for respondents who were male (OR: 1.50 95% CI: 1.35, 1.66), that identified with an ethnic minority (OR: 1.57 95% CI: 1.38, 1.78), were highly educated (OR: 1.66 95% CI: 1.46, 1.90), or living with children (OR: 2.71 95% CI: 2.44, 3.01). Further research is required to explore how online food delivery services may influence diet and health.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 02-11-2021
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021004535
Abstract: Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling is a globally recommended strategy to encourage healthier food choices. We evaluated the effect of FOP labels on the perceived healthfulness of a sweetened fruit drink in an international s le of adult consumers. Six-arm randomised controlled experiment to examine the impact of FOP labels (no label control, Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), Multiple Traffic Lights, the Health Star Ratings (HSR), Health Warning Labels, and ‘High-in’ Warning Labels (HIWL)) on the perceived healthfulness of the drink. Linear regression models by country examined healthfulness perceptions on FOP nutrition labels, testing for interactions by demographic characteristics. Online survey in 2018 among participants from Australia, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom (UK) and United States. Adults (≥18 years, n 22 140). Compared with control, HIWL had the greatest impact in lowering perceived healthfulness ( β from −0·62 to −1·71) across all countries. The HIWL and the HSR had a similar effect in Australia. Other labels were effective in decreasing the perceived healthfulness of the drink within some countries only, but to a lower extent. The GDA did not reduce perceived healthfulness in most countries. In the UK, the effect of HIWL differed by age group, with greater impact among older participants ( 40 years). There were no other variations across key demographic characteristics. HIWL, which communicates clear, non-quantitative messages about high levels of nutrients of concern, demonstrated the greatest efficacy to decrease the perceived healthfulness of a sweetened fruit drink across countries. This effect was similar across demographic characteristics.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-06-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12966-021-01149-0
Abstract: Food retail environments have an influential role in shaping purchasing behavior and could contribute to improving dietary patterns at a population level. However, little is known about the level of public support for different types of initiatives to encourage healthy food choices in supermarkets, and whether this varies across countries or context. The current study aimed to explore the level of support for three potential supermarket initiatives focused on product placement across five countries, and factors that may influence this support. A total of 22,264 adults from Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States (US) provided information on support for three supermarket initiatives related to product placement (targeting product positioning: ‘checkouts with only healthy products’, ‘fewer end-of-aisle displays containing unhealthy foods or soft drinks’ or availability: ‘more shelf space for fresh and healthier foods’) as part of the online 2018 International Food Policy Study. The proportion of respondents that supported each initiative was assessed across countries, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the influence of sociodemographic factors on support. The initiative that received the highest support was ‘more shelf space for fresh and healthier foods’: 72.0% [95% CI 71.3–72.7], whereas ‘checkouts with only healthy products’ received the lowest support: 48.6% [95% CI 47.8–49.4]. The level of support differed between countries ( p 0.001 for all initiatives), with the US generally showing the lowest support and Mexico the highest. Noteworthy, in the overall s le, there was not much opposition to any of the initiatives (2.5–14.2%), whereas there was a large proportion of neutral responses (25.5–37.2%). Respondents who were older, female, highly educated, and those who reported having more nutrition knowledge tended to be more supportive, with several differences between countries and initiatives. Most people in the assessed five countries showed a generally high level of support for three placement initiatives in supermarkets to encourage healthy food choices. Support varied by type of initiative (i.e., product positioning or availability) and was influenced by several factors related to country context and sociodemographic characteristics. This evidence could prompt and guide retailers and policy makers to take stronger action to promote healthy food choices in stores.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-11-2014
DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2013.875412
Abstract: The study aimed to determine urban and rural differences in overweight and obesity (OO) with diarrhea regarding subjects' sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, etiology, and antimicrobial susceptibility. Relevant information from 2000 to 2011 were extracted from the data archive of the Diarrheal Disease Surveillance System of urban Dhaka (1248, 4.5%) and rural Matlab (615, 3.4%) hospitals of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). The proportion of OO significantly increased in both urban (3-7% chi-square for trend p < 0.001) and rural (1-6% p < 0.001) areas over the study period. In multivariate modeling, monthly income more than US$100 (odds ratio [OR] = 54.44, 95% confidence interval [CI], 25.37-116.82, p < 0.001), high wealth quintile (OR = 18.23, 95% CI, 8.63-38.49, p < 0.001), access to sanitary toilet (OR = 3.07. 95% CI. 1.76-5.26. p < 0.001), boiled drinking water (OR = 2.77, 95% CI, 1.09-7.05, p = 0.032), antimicrobial use before hospitalization (OR = 4.99, 95% CI, 2.85-8.74, p < 0.001), fever (OR = 0.14, 95% CI, 0.37, 0.50, p < 0.001), watery stools (OR = 5.59, 95% CI, 2.11-14.80, p < 0.001), dehydrating diarrhea (OR = 5.17, 95% CI, 2.54-10.52, p < 0.001), intravenous saline infusion after hospitalization (OR = 2.65, 95% CI, 1.28-5.49, p = 0.009), and Salmonella infection (OR = 0.20, 95% CI, 0.50-0.83, p = 0.027) remained significantly associated with urban OO in iduals. At least 88% of Shigella isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin in both urban and rural areas for mecillinum it was 90%. Ciprofloxacin had the least detected resistance for Vibrio cholerae (0%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) showed the greatest resistance (Dhaka 86% Matlab 98%). Susceptibility for Salmonella showed icillin (95%), chlor henecol (100%), ciprofloxacin (95%), ceftraxone (93%), TMP-SMX (95%) at both sites. Urban OO with diarrheal illnesses was significantly different from that in rural areas, including antimicrobial susceptibility.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-08-2020
Abstract: The food industry has an important role to play in efforts to improve population diets. This study aimed to benchmark the comprehensiveness, specificity and transparency of nutrition-related policies and commitments of major food companies in Australia. In 2018, we applied the Business Impact Assessment on Obesity and Population Level Nutrition (BIA-Obesity) tool and process to quantitatively assess company policies across six domains. Thirty-four companies operating in Australia were assessed, including the largest packaged food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers (n = 19), supermarkets (n = 4) and quick-service restaurants (n = 11). Publicly available company information was collected, supplemented by information gathered through engagement with company representatives. Sixteen out of 34 companies (47%) engaged with data collection processes. Company scores ranged from 3/100 to 71/100 (median: 40.5/100), with substantial variation by sector, company and domain. This study demonstrated that, while some food companies had made commitments to address population nutrition and obesity-related issues, the overall response from the food industry fell short of global benchmarks of good practice. Future studies should assess both company policies and practices. In the absence of stronger industry action, government regulations, such as mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and restrictions on unhealthy food marketing, are urgently needed.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1093/JN/NXAC025
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1093/JN/NXAC057
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1093/JN/NXAC052
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1093/JN/NXAC076
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1093/JN/NXAC042
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-05-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S12889-020-08828-W
Abstract: Canada’s food supply is abundant in less healthy products, increasing Canadians’ risk of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Food companies strongly influence the food supply however, no studies have examined differences in the healthfulness of products offered by various companies in Canada. This study aimed to compare the nutritional quality of products offered by the top packaged food and beverage companies in Canada. Twenty-two top packaged food and beverage manufacturing companies were selected, representing 50% of the Canadian market share in 2018. Nutritional information for products ( n = 8277) was sourced from the University of Toronto Food Label Information Program 2017 database. Descriptive analyses examined the nutritional quality of products based on: 1) the Health Star Rating (HSR) system 2) calories, sodium, saturated fat and total sugars per 100 g (or mL) and per reference amounts (RAs) defined by Health Canada and 3) “high in” thresholds for sodium, saturated fat and total sugars proposed by Health Canada for pending front-of-package labelling regulations. Kruskal-Wallis tests compared HSRs of products between companies. Mean HSRs of companies’ total product offerings ranged from 1.9 to 3.6 (out of 5.0). Differences in HSRs of products between companies were significant overall and for 19 of 22 food categories ( P 0.05), particularly for fats/oils and beverages. Calories, sodium, saturated fat and total sugars contents varied widely between companies for several food categories, and depending on whether they were examined per 100 g (or mL) or RA. Additionally, 66.4% of all products exceeded ≥1 of Health Canada’s “high in” thresholds for sodium (31.7%), saturated fat (28.3%) and/or sugars (28.4%). The proportion of products offered by a company that exceeded at least one of these thresholds ranged from 38.5 to 97.5%. The nutritional quality of products offered by leading packaged food and beverage manufacturers in Canada differs significantly overall and by food category, with many products considered less healthy according to multiple nutrient profiling methods. Variation within food categories illustrates the need and potential for companies to improve the healthfulness of their products. Identifying companies that offer less healthy products compared with others in Canada may help prompt reformulation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1093/JN/NXAC070
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 20-05-2021
DOI: 10.1177/10105395211014642
Abstract: This review aimed to investigate national estimates of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in children and adolescents aged two to 18 years, from countries in regions particularly burdened by dietary-related chronic illnesses. The most recent studies or reports from included countries (n = 73) with national-level consumption data of SSBs in children and adolescents, collected between January 2010 and October 2019, were considered for inclusion. A random effects meta-analysis was used to calculate pooled estimates of the mean consumption of SSB in millimeters per day. Heterogeneity between national estimates was assessed using the I 2 statistic and explored via subgroup analyses by the World Health Organization region, age groups, and country-level income. Forty-eight studies were included in the review reporting national estimates of consumption for 51 countries. The highest estimate of daily consumption was in China at 710.0 mL (95% confidence interval (CI) [698.8, 721.2], while the lowest was in Australia at 115.1 mL (95% CI [111.2, 119.1]). Pooled synthesis of daily SSB consumption of the 51 countries was 326.0 mL (95% CI [288.3, 363.8]), although heterogeneity was high, and was not explained by subgroup analyses. While there is considerable variability between countries, intake of SSB remains high among children and adolescents internationally underscoring the need for public health efforts to reduce SSBs consumption.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2015
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 08-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-01-2019
DOI: 10.1111/OBR.12819
Abstract: The Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) aims to assess the extent of implementation of recommended food environment policies by governments compared with international best practices and prioritize actions to fill implementation gaps. The Food-EPI was applied in 11 countries across six regions (2015-2018). National public health nutrition panels (n = 11-101 experts) rated the extent of implementation of 47 policy and infrastructure support good practice indicators by their government(s) against best practices, using an evidence document verified by government officials. Experts identified and prioritized actions to address implementation gaps. The proportion of indicators at "very low if any," "low," "medium," and "high" implementation, overall Food-EPI scores, and priority action areas were compared across countries. Inter-rater reliability was good (GwetAC2 = 0.6-0.8). Chile had the highest proportion of policies (13%) rated at "high" implementation, while Guatemala had the highest proportion of policies (83%) rated at "very low if any" implementation. The overall Food-EPI score was "medium" for Australia, England, Chile, and Singapore, while "very low if any" for Guatemala. Policy areas most frequently prioritized included taxes on unhealthy foods, restricting unhealthy food promotion and front-of-pack labelling. The Food-EPI was found to be a robust tool and process to benchmark governments' progress to create healthy food environments.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-09-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.JAND.2021.09.018
Abstract: Psychosocial stress and diet quality in idually mediate associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health however, it is not known whether they jointly mediate these associations. This is an important question because stress-related unhealthy eating is often invoked as an explanation for diet-related health inequities, particularly among women, seemingly with no empirical justification. This study examined whether psychosocial stress and diet quality jointly mediated associations between SEP and self-rated health in women and men. Multiple mediating pathways were modeled using data from the cross-sectional International Food Policy Study. Data were collected from 5,645 adults (aged 18 years or older) in Canada during 2018 and 2019. Participants reported SEP using indicators of materialist (educational attainment and perceived income adequacy) and psychosocial pathways (subjective social status), along with psychosocial stress, dietary intake (to assess overall diet quality via Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores), and self-rated health. Structural equation modeling modeled pathways linking SEP (ie, educational attainment, perceived income adequacy, and subjective social status) with self-rated health mediated by psychosocial stress and diet quality, stratified by gender. There was no evidence that psychosocial stress and diet quality jointly mediated associations between SEP and self-rated health in women or men. Diet quality mediated associations between educational attainment and self-rated health in women and men, with some evidence that it mediated associations between subjective social status and self-rated health in men (P = 0.051). Psychosocial stress mediated associations between perceived income adequacy and self-rated health in women and men, and between subjective social status and self-rated health in women. Although often invoked as an explanation for diet-related health inequities, stress-related poor diet quality did not mediate associations between SEP and self-rated health in women or men. Psychosocial stress and diet quality in idually mediated some of these associations, with some differences by gender.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-02-2023
Abstract: Unhealthy food environments contribute to unhealthy population diets. In Australia, the government currently relies on voluntary food company actions (e.g., related to front-of-pack labelling, restricting promotion of unhealthy foods, and product formulation) as part of their efforts to improve population diets, despite evidence that such voluntary approaches are less effective than mandatory policies. This study aimed to understand public perceptions of potential food industry nutrition-related actions in Australia. An online survey was completed by 4289 Australians in 2020 as part of the International Food Policy Study. The level of public support was assessed for six different nutrition-related actions related to food labelling, food promotion, and product formulation. High levels of support were observed for all six company actions, with the highest support observed for displaying the Health Star Rating on all products (80.4%) and restricting children’s exposure to online promotion of unhealthy food (76.8%). Findings suggest the Australian public is strongly supportive of food companies taking action to improve nutrition and the healthiness of food environments. However, given the limitations of the voluntary action from food companies, mandatory policy action by the Australian government is likely to be needed to ensure company practices align with public expectations.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 12-04-2021
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021001415
Abstract: To examine awareness and recall of healthy eating public education c aigns in five countries. Data were cross-sectional and collected as part of the 2018 International Food Policy Study. Respondents were asked whether they had seen government healthy eating c aigns in the past year if yes (awareness), they were asked to describe the c aign. Open-ended descriptions were coded to indicate recall of specific c aigns. Logistic models regressed awareness of healthy eating c aigns on participant country, age, sex, ethnicity, education, income adequacy and BMI. Analyses were also stratified by country. Online surveys. Participants were Nielsen panelists aged ≥18 years in Australia, Canada, Mexico, UK and the USA ( n 22 463). Odds of c aign awareness were higher in Mexico (50·9 %) than UK (18·2 %), Australia (17·9 %), the USA (13·0 %) and Canada (10·2 %) ( P 0·001). Awareness was also higher in UK and Australia v . Canada and the USA, and the USA v . Canada ( P 0·001). Overall, awareness was higher among males v . females and respondents with medium or high v . low education ( P 0·001 for all). Similar results were found in stratified models, although no sex difference was observed in Australia or UK ( P 0·05), and age was associated with c aign awareness in UK ( P 0·001). Common keywords in all countries included sugar/sugary drinks, fruits and vegetables, and physical activity. The top five c aigns recalled were Chécate, mídete, muévete (Mexico), PrevenIMSS (Mexico), Change4Life (UK), LiveLighter® (Australia), and Actívate, Vive Mejor (Mexico). In Mexico, UK and Australia, comprehensive c aigns to promote healthy lifestyles appear to have achieved broad, population-level reach.
No related grants have been discovered for Lana Vanderlee.