Improved access to healthy food has 'little effect' on diet

Making healthy food more accessible and affordable has "little effect" on diet and health, a study has found.

A report published in the British Medical Journal ( BMJ) found that evidence had been found that proved that government initiatives to improve access to healthy affordable food, improve public health and reduce health inequalities did not work.

The report said that uncertainty remained over whether large-scale retail interventions, one of the government's initiatives, actually work. A recent study conducted in Newcastle was cited, which found that retail provision was not independently associated with diet. Another study in Leeds did find positive changes in fruit and vegetable consumption, but a study in Glasgow found "little evidence" of an overall effect.

The government has launched a series of '5-A-Day Community Initiatives' aimed at providing easier access to fruit and vegetables. One scheme involved the provision of one piece of fruit and vegetable for every child aged between four and six every school day.

Despite limitations, the study suggested that retail interventions had either a small, but important effect or no effect at all on diet and health.

The report stated: "If new retail provision is to have an impact on diet and health, we need a multidimensional approach that also tackles food awareness, affordability and acceptability in addition to retail change."

The report recommended an approach that changed knowledge and access simultaneously, stating that this "may have a better chance of securing improvements in diet and health and a reduction in health inequalities."

(KMcA/SP)