Mixed
Poor dietary intake in low-income groups is an emergent property of a complex adaptive system that sustains a food environment increasing the accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability of unhealthy foods.
For policymakers and advocates: Do not rely solely on 'food desert' fixes like new supermarkets. Interventions must simultaneously address household financial strain, social/cultural norms, and the systemic drivers that make unhealthy food the rational choice for low-income households.
Our findings reveal how poor dietary intake in low-income groups can be presented as an emergent property of a complex adaptive system that sustains a food environment that increases the accessibility, availability, affordability and acceptability of unhealthy foods.
Why this rating
Based on a systematic umbrella review of 43 reviews, providing high-level synthesis of existing evidence.
Source
Dynamics of the complex food environment underlying dietary intake in low-income groups: a systems map of associations extracted from a systematic umbrella literature review
Alexia Sawyer et al. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · 2021
DOI 10.1186/s12966-021-01164-1
More from this paper
- Dietary intake in low-income groups is driven more by demand-side factors (social, cultural, economic) than by supply-side factors (accessibility, availability).Good
- Reshaping the food environment requires simultaneous, diverse, and innovative strategies that prioritize long-term household financial management and socially-oriented healthy food practices.Moderate
Related findings · Mixed
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