Healthy snacks in hospitals: Testing the potential effects of changes in availability.
Autor: | Allan JL; University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK., Duthie S; University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK., Heddle M; University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK., McKenzie F; NHS Grampian, Aberdeen, UK., Webb S; NHS Grampian, Aberdeen, UK., Johnston M; University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK. |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Zdroj: | Nutrition and health [Nutr Health] 2021 Sep; Vol. 27 (3), pp. 321-327. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Mar 26. |
DOI: | 10.1177/0260106021996921 |
Abstrakt: | Background: Hospitals offer snacks for sale to patients, staff and visitors. Aim: As food choice is heavily influenced by the options available, the present study (a) audited snack availability and purchase in NHS hospital sites across a large UK city; and (b) tested the potential effects of changes to this availability in an online choice experiment. Methods: In Study 1 (audit), single-serve snacks ( n =376) available in 76 hospital food retail units were audited. Purchasing data were obtained from six food retail units over four weeks (27,989 sales). In Study 2 (online experiment), participants ( n =159) chose snacks from pictured ranges containing 25% (minority), 50% (equivalent) or 75% (majority) healthy options. Results: Available single-serve snacks varied markedly in calorie (18-641 kcals), fat (0-39 g), sugar (0.1-76 g) and salt (0-2.9 g). Only 30% of available snacks were healthy options and only 25% of the most commonly purchased snacks were healthy options. In Study 2, snack choice was significantly associated with the availability of healthy options in the choice array (X 2 (2) = 59.71, p<.01). More participants made healthy choices when product ranges contained 75% healthy options compared to 50% (p<.01) and 50% healthy options compared with 25% (p<.01). Conclusions: Healthy snacks are readily available in NHS sites but there is a greater relative variety of unhealthy snack products. Many consumers continue to purchase unhealthy items. Further increasing the availability and variety of healthy options may support consumers to make healthier choices. |
Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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