Family Food Experience Study: London (FFES-L)

We are conducting a three-year study looking at why, despite numerous actions to address disparities in child weight and diet between families in different London neighbourhoods, these continue to increase. The aim of the research is to provide Local Authorities with information on the most effective range of interventions to achieve more impact.

The study incorporates a household survey and interviews with parents and caregivers, workshops and engagement with local stakeholders.

Healthy Communities through Convenience.

Through the Evaluating the impact of placement regulations on the CONvenience store sector and co-creating solutions for a healthier system (ECON) study, we will be working with convenience businesses and their customers to find workable solutions to boost the sales of healthy products in stores across England.

The study will assess the impact the new high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) product placement law (October 2022) has on the food bought and eaten by people who use convenience stores and on store profits. It will also find out how much work it generates for local governments. A key aim is to help all convenience store owners find ways to offer healthier options to their customers without affecting their profits.

The EvaluatiNg The High fat sUgar Salt rEgulations: practice, response and impact across retail settings (ENTHUSE) study will evaluate the impact of promotional practices in retail settings.

We will be working with a range of businesses including manufacturers, wholesalers, supermarkets and non-food stores to evaluate the impact of the Food (Promotion and Placement) regulations.

We have partnered with local authorities across the country to examine promotional practices across retail stores. The project is also supported by Natcen, The British Retail Consortium, Federation of Wholesale Distributors, and Chartered Trading Standards Institute.

Centre for Food Policy Director, Professor Christina Vogel is co-principal investigator on ‘Nudging healthier dietary patterns among disadvantaged women: the WRAPPED study‘ at the University of Southampton.

This research project aims to address a gap in understanding about the microenvironmental determinants of diet and who responds to food product placement nudge interventions by exploring whether improving the positioning and increasing the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables in discount supermarkets influences the purchasing and dietary patterns of women aged 18-60 years and whether it is cost effective.

The project is funded by NIHR Public Health Research programme, UK Academy of Medical Sciences, and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Council and  Medical Research Council.