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. 2020 Nov 4;17(21):8141.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17218141.

Developing a National Research Agenda to Support Healthy Food Retail

Amelie A Hecht  1 , Megan M Lott  2 , Kirsten Arm  2 , Mary T Story  2 , Emily Snyder  3 , Margo G Wootan  3 , Alyssa J Moran  1
Affiliations

Developing a National Research Agenda to Support Healthy Food Retail

Amelie A Hecht et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The food retail environment is an important driver of dietary choices. This article presents a national agenda for research in food retail, with the goal of identifying policies and corporate practices that effectively promote healthy food and beverage purchases and decrease unhealthy purchases. The research agenda was developed through a multi-step process that included (1) convening a scientific advisory committee; (2) commissioned research; (3) in-person expert convening; (4) thematic analysis of meeting notes and refining research questions; (5) follow-up survey of convening participants; and (6) refining the final research agenda. Public health researchers, advocates, food and beverage retailers, and funders participated in the agenda setting process. A total of 37 research questions grouped into ten priority areas emerged. Five priority areas focus on understanding the current food retail environment and consumer behavior and five focus on assessing implementation and effectiveness of interventions and policies to attain healthier retail. Priority topics include how frequency, duration, and impact of retailer promotion practices differ by community characteristics and how to leverage federal nutrition assistance programs to support healthy eating. To improve feasibility, researchers should explore partnerships with retailers and advocacy groups, identify novel data sources, and use a variety of study designs. This agenda can serve as a guide for researchers, food retailers, funders, government agencies, and advocacy organizations.

Keywords: food and beverage; food environment; grocery retail; healthy food retail; marketing; policy; research agenda; supermarket.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors (A.A.H., E.S., M.G.W., A.J.M.) declare no conflict of interest. One funder (H.E.R.) did contribute significantly to the design of the study and in the collection of the data at the convening; however, the affiliated authors (M.M.L., K.A., M.T.S.) did not play a role in the analysis or interpretation of the data.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart depicting the process of developing the national healthy retail research agenda.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart depicting how research questions were generated and refined through the agenda-setting process.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Research questions with the 10 highest composite scores from the follow-up survey. Numbers listed before questions represent ranking from 1–10 by composite score. Research questions were ranked on a 5-point Likert scale in terms of feasibility (y-axis) and health equity (x-axis). Ratings for importance are not displayed due to low variation (3.8–4.5) among the top ten questions. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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