Store Checkout Data Generate Neighborhood Food Profiles

(otakusan555/Flickr)

11 March 2014. An epidemiologist at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada devised a method for tracking food choices, with data from food stores, that helps gauge family nutrition in city neighborhoods. The team led by McGill’s David Buckeridge published its findings online in a recent issue of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required).

Buckeridge, with colleagues from his Surveillance Lab and other departments at McGill, as well as University of Alberta, sought an alternative to expensive, intrusive, and time-consuming dietary surveys to track eating habits. The method they designed captures data from checkout bar code scanners that automatically record individual store items.

The McGill team tested this method on sales of carbonated soft drinks, a significant contributor to North America calorie consumption. The researchers collected store scanner data from 2008 to 2010 from food stores throughout Montreal, then cross-referenced the store checkouts with census data detailing socioeconomic factors for the neighborhoods where the stores were located.

The team constructed a composite indicator based on the data to predict carbonated soft drink sales in those Montreal neighborhoods. The indicator was able to forecast soft drink sales in the neighborhoods with a margin of error of 2.2 percent. A key demographic indicator was personal income, where for each $10,000 decease in median personal income, neighborhoods saw a five-fold increase in carbonated soft drink sales.

While the study focuses on soft drinks, Buckeridge says it can be applied to other food choices, such as processed foods, foods high in sodium, or those with saturated fats. In addition, the method can also be used to monitor food purchased at restaurants to construct an overall profile of a neighborhood’s nutrition.

“We are working with public health agencies to determine how the methods we have developed can be used to monitor the food consumed within a neighborhood and develop strategies to encourage healthier diets,” says Buckeridge in a university statement. “The evidence is clear that promoting healthy eating habits can prevent or reduce health problems, improve quality of life, and reduce health care costs.”

Read more:

• School Meal Standards Lead to More Fruit, Veggies Eaten
• Nutritional Labeling Leads to Healthier Restaurant Choices
• Chain Restaurants Still Serving High Calorie, Sodium Meals
• Sugary Drink Taxes Can Cut Calories, Health Impact Limited
• Symbols and Calorie Labels Influence Restaurant Choices

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