Junk Food on Demand: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Nutritional Quality of Popular Online Food Delivery Outlets in Australia and New Zealand

Stephanie R. Partridge; Alice A. Gibson; Rajshri Roy; Jessica A. Malloy; Rebecca Raeside; Si Si Jia; Anna C. Singleton; Mariam Mandoh; Allyson R. Todd; Tian Wang; Nicole K. Halim; Karice Hyun; Julie Redfern

doi:10.3390/nu12103107

Nutrients (Oct 2020)

Junk Food on Demand: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Nutritional Quality of Popular Online Food Delivery Outlets in Australia and New Zealand

Stephanie R. Partridge,
Alice A. Gibson,
Rajshri Roy,
Jessica A. Malloy,
Rebecca Raeside,
Si Si Jia,
Anna C. Singleton,
Mariam Mandoh,
Allyson R. Todd,
Tian Wang,
Nicole K. Halim,
Karice Hyun,
Julie Redfern

Affiliations

Stephanie R. Partridge: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Alice A. Gibson: Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Rajshri Roy: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1011, New Zealand
Jessica A. Malloy: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1011, New Zealand
Rebecca Raeside: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Si Si Jia: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Anna C. Singleton: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Mariam Mandoh: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Allyson R. Todd: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Tian Wang: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Nicole K. Halim: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Karice Hyun: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia
Julie Redfern: Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2145, Australia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103107
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 10
p. 3107

Abstract

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The demand for convenience and the increasing role of digital technology in everyday life has fueled the use of online food delivery services (OFD’s), of which young people are the largest users globally. OFD’s are disrupting traditional food environments, yet research evaluating the public health implications of such services is lacking. We evaluated the characteristics and nutritional quality of popular food outlets on a market-leading platform (UberEATS®) in a cross-sectional observational study conducted in two international cities: Sydney (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand). A systematic search using publicly available population-level data was used to identify geographical areas with above-average concentrations (>30%) of young people (15–34-years). A standardized data extraction protocol was used to identify the ten most popular food outlets within each area. The nutritional quality of food outlets was assessed using the Food Environment Score (FES) (range: −10 ‘unhealthiest’ to 10 ‘healthiest’). Additionally, the most popular menu items from each food outlet were classified as discretionary or core foods/beverages according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The majority of popular food outlets were classified as ‘unhealthy’ (FES range −10 to −5; 73.5%, 789/1074) and were predominately takeaway franchise stores (59.6%, 470/789, e.g., McDonald’s®). 85.9% of all popular menu items were discretionary (n = 4958/5769). This study highlights the pervasion and accessibility of discretionary foods on OFD’s. This study demonstrated that the most popular food outlets on the market-leading online food delivery service are unhealthy and popular menu items are mostly discretionary foods; facilitating the purchase of foods of poor nutritional quality. Consideration of OFD’s in public health nutrition strategies and policies in critical.

Published in Nutrients

ISSN: 2072-6643 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Home economics: Nutrition. Foods and food supply
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients

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