Exploring the link between food purchasing behaviour and obesity

in the West Midlands

David Elliott

Public Health Manager

Department of Health West Midlands

Background

• Contact with AWM (RIP) co-funded PhDs at Kent Business School with access to dunhunby database and daily data provided by 1.2m shoppers

• DHWM provide research project funding from DH obesity programme after discussing feasibility and agreeing methodology

• Project managed through steering group of Prof Fearne, David Elliott, Catherine Goodridge and Harjit Kooner

Model of Community Nutrition Environments

Model of community nutritional environments cont’d

• Model taken from K Glanz et al (2005)• Identifies four distinct environmental

variables that can have a direct or indirect influence on eating patterns

• These are part of an overall ‘nutrition environment’

• This research project focuses on the community, organisational and consumer environments

Public Health Responsibility Deal

• Launched 15 March 2011• Food Networks: Scope and collective pledges

– Out of home calorie labelling– Salt reduction– Artificial trans fats

• Next phase:– Supporting people to reduce calorie intake– Improving access to fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy

diet

• Note pledge (30 March) by Association of Convenience Stores (Spar, Costcutter, Londis and NISA-Todays) to fund 1,000 stores across country by 2012 to use C4L branding to promote fruit &

vegetables

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink…

• Cabinet Office Report: ‘Applying Behavioural Insights to Health’ (2010)

• Public Health is a priority for Cabinet Office Behavioural Insight Team

• One suggestion is to reinforce social norms about other people’s behaviour/the average shopper to spur greater consumption of fruit and vegetables – note recent C4L and Asda collaboration