The Effects of a Nutrition Education Intervention on Vending Machine Sales on a University Campus

Brown, Mary V.; Flint, Matthew; Fuqua, James L.

doi:10.1080/07448481.2014.920337

Cited by 39 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Preferential pricing strategies that reduce the price of healthier products and increase the price of less healthy products can promote healthier purchases from vending machines . However, this study and a similar audit of an urban Australian university campus found that healthy foods tended to be more expensive.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…29 Preferential pricing strategies that reduce the price of healthier products and increase the price of less healthy products can promote healthier purchases from vending machines. 20,[30][31][32] However, this study and a similar audit of an urban Australian university campus 16 found that healthy foods tended to be more expensive. Concern that price and product changes would reduce sales and profit may impede managers from offering healthier food and beverage choices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

“…Concern that price and product changes would reduce sales and profit may impede managers from offering healthier food and beverage choices. However, studies have concluded that increasing the healthy options available in vending machines had no effect on the overall sales . There is also potential for universities supplement their income by increasing the availability of vending machines containing non‐food items that students may find useful such as usb sticks or drink bottles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the availability, price, nutritional value and consumer views about foods and beverages from vending machines across university campuses in regional New South Wales, Australia

Sangster

Priestly

2018

Health Prom J of Aust

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Issue addressed Vending machines are ubiquitous. However, there is limited evidence on the nutritional value of food and beverages vended on university campuses and on the views of potential users. This study identified the availability, price and nutritional value of food and beverages vended on regional university campuses and investigated the views of university staff and students. Methods The availability and price of food and beverages vended on five regional university campuses were assessed by direct observation. Volunteers (n = 222) completed an anonymous, online or paper survey to assess their perspectives on products available in campus vending machines. Results Sixty per cent of 1259 slots identified in 49 vending machines were for foods and 40% were for beverages. Almost all foods (93%) and the majority of beverages (53%) vended were categorised as “less healthy.” The mean difference between the prices of healthier and less healthy foods and beverages was $0.72 and $0.16, respectively, but these differences were not statistically significant. Nearly 40% of participants were unsatisfied with the products available. Conclusion Vending machines on regional university campuses contained a high proportion of energy‐dense nutrient‐poor foods which contribute to an obesogenic environment. Regional university staff and students desire healthier vending options. So what? Findings can be used to inform stakeholders of the need to improve the nutritional quality of food and beverages vended on regional university campuses. Development of food policy for university settings and adoption of strategies to improve the availability and price of healthy foods would promote healthier food choices.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the availability, price, nutritional value and consumer views about foods and beverages from vending machines across university campuses in regional New South Wales, Australia

Sangster

Priestly

2018

Health Prom J of Aust

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“…The countries of origin of the studies included United States ( n = 10) , New Zealand ( n = 1) and the Netherlands ( n = 1) . Outcome measures included sales data expressed as a proportion of healthier items sold and/or absolute sales number of items ( n = 11) , profits or sales volumes ( n = 7) , nutrient composition of the snacks sold ( n = 2) , acceptability of the intervention to the participants ( n = 1) and dietary changes ( n = 1) . Limitations common to all interventions included a lack of measured changes to diet or weight and inability to determine if measured changes were due to existing clients changing the choices they would normally make or if changes were due to new customers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Five articles were deemed to have a low risk of bias (26)(27)(28)(29)(30), while the remaining seven articles had a moderate risk of bias (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37). For the results of the assessment of the risk of bias, see Table 3.…”

Section: Risk Of Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic literature review of nutrition interventions in vending machines that encourage consumers to make healthier choices

2015

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(i) populations that have access to vending machines; (ii) nutrition interventions; (iii) measured outcomes of behaviour change (e.g. sales data, dietary intake or weight change); and (iv) experimental trials where controls were not exposed to the intervention. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two researchers, and higher quality research formed the basis of this qualitative review. Twelve articles from 136 searched were included for synthesis. Intervention settings included schools, universities and workplaces. Reducing price or increasing the availability increased sales of healthier choices. The results of point-of-purchase nutrition information interventions were heterogeneous and when measured changes to purchases were small. This review offers evidence that pricing and availability strategies are effective at improving the nutritional quality foods and beverages purchased from vending machines. Evidence on how these interventions alter consumer's overall diet or body mass index is needed.

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Comparison of Sales From Vending Machines With 4 Different Food and Beverage Messages

Gibson,

Stephens-Shields,

Hua

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportancePoint-of-sale food messaging can encourage healthier purchases, but no studies have directly compared multiple interventions in the field.ObjectiveTo examine which of 4 food and beverage messages would increase healthier vending machine purchases.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis randomized trial assessed 13 months (February 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020) of vending sales data from 267 machines and 1065 customer purchase assessments from vending machines on government property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Data analysis was performed from March 5, 2020, to November 8, 2022.InterventionsStudy interventions were 4 food and beverage messaging systems: (1) beverage tax posters encouraging healthy choices because of the Philadelphia tax on sweetened drinks; (2) green labels for healthy products; (3) traffic light labels: green (healthy), yellow (moderately healthy), or red (unhealthy); or (4) physical activity equivalent labels (minutes of activity to metabolize product calories).Main Outcomes and MeasuresSales data were analyzed separately for beverages and snacks. The main outcomes analyzed at the transaction level were calories sold and the health status (using traffic light criteria) of each item sold. Additional outcomes were analyzed at the monthly machine level: total units sold, calories sold, and units of each health status sold. The customer purchase assessment outcome was calories purchased per vending trip.ResultsMonthly sales data came from 150 beverage and 117 snack vending machines, whereas 1065 customers (558 [52%] male) contributed purchase assessment data. Traffic light labels led to a 30% decrease in the mean monthly number of unhealthy beverages sold (mean ratio [MR], 0.70; 95% CI, 0.55-0.88) compared with beverage tax posters. Physical activity labels led to a 34% (MR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51-0.87) reduction in the number of unhealthy beverages sold at the machine level and 35% (MR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.50-0.86) reduction in mean calories sold. Traffic light labels also led to a 30-calorie reduction (b = −30.46; 95% CI, −49.36 to −11.56) per customer trip in the customer purchase analyses compared to physical activity labels. There were very few significant differences for snack machines.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this 13-month randomized trial of 267 vending machines, the traffic light and physical activity labels encouraged healthier beverage purchases, but no change in snack sales, compared with a beverage tax poster. Corporations and governments should consider such labeling approaches to promote healthier beverage choices.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06260176

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The Effects of a Nutrition Education Intervention on Vending Machine Sales on a University Campus

Abstract: The increased purchases of healthier snack options demonstrate encouraging patterns that support more nutritious and healthy alternatives in vending machines.

Cited by 39 publications

References 16 publications

Assessing the availability, price, nutritional value and consumer views about foods and beverages from vending machines across university campuses in regional New South Wales, Australia

Assessing the availability, price, nutritional value and consumer views about foods and beverages from vending machines across university campuses in regional New South Wales, Australia

A systematic literature review of nutrition interventions in vending machines that encourage consumers to make healthier choices

Comparison of Sales From Vending Machines With 4 Different Food and Beverage Messages

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