Mapping the digital food environment: A systematic scoping review

Abstract

Food environments are directly linked to diets and health outcomes such as overweight, obesity, and noncommunicable diseases. The digitalization of food environments is becoming a central issue in public health, yet little is known about this emerging field. We performed a systematic scoping review to map the research on the digital food environment and investigate how the eight dimensions of the food environment, according to an established framework (availability, prices, vendor and product properties, marketing and regulation, accessibility, affordability, convenience, and desirability), might be shifting in the context of a digital society. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published between 2000 and 2019, using search terms covering digital technology and food environment, which yielded 13,580 unique records. Our analysis of 357 studies shows that digitalization is taking place in all dimensions of the food environment, and enabling the emergence of new forms of buying and selling food, such as online grocery shopping and online food delivery, which may be changing availability of foods and affecting the physical distance to shops and time allocated for shopping. Systematic reviews identified indicated that digital food marketing and social media can influence food choices, preferences and consumption. Our findings suggest that digital and physical food environments are interconnected and influencing one another, but the impact of the digital on health and nutrition is yet unclear.

Digital Food Retail: Public Health Opportunities

“…The digitalization of food environments [3] generated virtual points of purchase, enabling digital food retailers (online groceries, food delivery apps, and meal kits) to spread their reach as e-commerce penetrates further into global markets [6,7,95,96]. The expansion of digital food retail services enhances commercial food systems, making it easier to sell food-healthy and unhealthy.…”

“…Expanding e-commerce opportunitiesmade possible through mobile technology and widespread access to wireless Internet-are altering consumer food shopping behaviors [2]. The digitalization of the food environment [3] has generated e-commerce opportunities for food retailers to sell foods online, which are delivered or picked up offline [4]. Transformation in the food retail industry has accelerated rapidly and may provide opportunities to build resilience within the food system to stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic [4].…”

“…The digitalization of the food environment has enabled new forms of selling and purchasing food [3] and has spawned unprecedented access to foodservice outlets, dayand-night, which has made food acquisition, healthy and unhealthy, effortless with the swipe of a finger or a few clicks. Though improved access to food may seem inherently positive, it comes with a host of challenges associated with limitless access to highly processed foods.…”

Hubungan Pola Makan, Aktivitas Fisik dan Konsumsi Fast Food terhadap Kejadian Gizi Lebih pada Remaja

“…Copyright © 2021 Universitas Sebelas Maret yang didalamnya mencakup lingkungan (Granheim et al, 2022). Faktor berikutnya kemudian kebijakan dan program yang mendukung, meliputi pencegahan di tingkat masyarakat, deteksi dini dan tata laksana gizi lebih di fasilitas kesehatan (Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional, 2019).…”

Food promoted on an online food delivery platform in a Brazilian metropolis during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: a longitudinal analysis

“…Under this definition, food environments are dynamic and change over time (1) . Advances in digital technologies, especially the Internet and smartphones, have globalised our everyday food environments and updated diners' takeout options with ghost kitchens and elaborate online food delivery (OFD) platforms (2) (e.g. UberEATS, iFood), applications or websites that connect consumers, restaurants, and riders (also known as drivers or couriers); people read restaurants' menus online, order food and receive it at home or a place of their choosing (3,4) .…”