Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya

Overweight and obesity are growing health problems in many developing countries. Rising obesity rates are the result of changes in people’s diets and lifestyles. Income growth and urbanization are factors that contribute to these changes. Modernizing food retail environments may also play a certain...

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Autores principales: Demmler, Kathrin M., Ecker, Olivier, Qaim, Matin
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: University of Göttingen 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148318
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author Demmler, Kathrin M.
Ecker, Olivier
Qaim, Matin
author_browse Demmler, Kathrin M.
Ecker, Olivier
Qaim, Matin
author_facet Demmler, Kathrin M.
Ecker, Olivier
Qaim, Matin
author_sort Demmler, Kathrin M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Overweight and obesity are growing health problems in many developing countries. Rising obesity rates are the result of changes in people’s diets and lifestyles. Income growth and urbanization are factors that contribute to these changes. Modernizing food retail environments may also play a certain role. For instance, the rapid spread of supermarkets in many developing countries could affect consumer food choices and thus nutritional outcomes. However, concrete evidence about the effects of supermarkets on consumer diets and nutrition is thin. A few existing studies have analyzed related linkages with cross-sectional survey data. We add to this literature by using panel data from households and individuals in urban Kenya. Employing panel regression models with individual fixed effects and controlling for other factors we show that shopping in supermarkets significantly increases body mass index (BMI). We also analyze impact pathways. Shopping in supermarkets contributes to higher consumption of processed and highly processed foods and lower consumption of unprocessed foods. These results confirm that the retail environment affects people’s food choices and nutrition. However, the effects depend on the types of foods offered. Rather than thwarting modernization in the retail sector, policies that incentivize the sale of more healthy foods – such as fruits and vegetables – in supermarkets may be more promising to promote desirable nutritional outcomes.
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spelling CGSpace1483182024-11-13T12:23:07Z Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya Demmler, Kathrin M. Ecker, Olivier Qaim, Matin income retail marketing health urban areas urbanization processed foods marketing nutrition consumers diet feeding habits supermarkets overweight obesity Overweight and obesity are growing health problems in many developing countries. Rising obesity rates are the result of changes in people’s diets and lifestyles. Income growth and urbanization are factors that contribute to these changes. Modernizing food retail environments may also play a certain role. For instance, the rapid spread of supermarkets in many developing countries could affect consumer food choices and thus nutritional outcomes. However, concrete evidence about the effects of supermarkets on consumer diets and nutrition is thin. A few existing studies have analyzed related linkages with cross-sectional survey data. We add to this literature by using panel data from households and individuals in urban Kenya. Employing panel regression models with individual fixed effects and controlling for other factors we show that shopping in supermarkets significantly increases body mass index (BMI). We also analyze impact pathways. Shopping in supermarkets contributes to higher consumption of processed and highly processed foods and lower consumption of unprocessed foods. These results confirm that the retail environment affects people’s food choices and nutrition. However, the effects depend on the types of foods offered. Rather than thwarting modernization in the retail sector, policies that incentivize the sale of more healthy foods – such as fruits and vegetables – in supermarkets may be more promising to promote desirable nutritional outcomes. 2017 2024-06-21T09:24:21Z 2024-06-21T09:24:21Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148318 en University of Göttingen Demmler, Kathrin M.; Ecker, Olivier; and Qaim, Matin. 2017. Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya. GlobalFood Discussion Paper 91. Göttingen, Germany: University of Göttingen. https://purl.umn.edu/253860
spellingShingle income
retail marketing
health
urban areas
urbanization
processed foods
marketing
nutrition
consumers
diet
feeding habits
supermarkets
overweight
obesity
Demmler, Kathrin M.
Ecker, Olivier
Qaim, Matin
Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya
title Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya
title_full Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya
title_fullStr Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya
title_short Supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes: A panel data analysis for urban Kenya
title_sort supermarket shopping and nutritional outcomes a panel data analysis for urban kenya
topic income
retail marketing
health
urban areas
urbanization
processed foods
marketing
nutrition
consumers
diet
feeding habits
supermarkets
overweight
obesity
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148318
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