Leeds academics help improve access to nutritional food

Obesity levels in the UK represent a key public health issue, with 67% of its population living with overweight or obesity. People living with obesity are more likely to experience a range of health issues including heart conditions and Type 2 Diabetes. They are also more likely to be living in areas of high deprivation.

The study will, for the first time, bring together consumers, policy makers, charities, food producers, processers and retailers, as well as expert academics to co-develop and test strategies that can support future transformative potential in the food system.

Professor Paul Gately, Co-Director of Leeds Beckett’s Obesity Institute, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Leeds Beckett to be involved in a project which for the first time will bring various types of organisation together to see how best we can help people get access to a healthy, balanced diet that is also sustainable.

“A major challenge for people living with obesity is being able to afford a healthy, balanced diet – nutritionally poor and energy-dense foods that are often ultra-processed are cheaper and more readily available. Then we have food insecurity, which is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Families on low income are more likely to be food insecure and spend a greater proportion of their monthly budget in supermarkets.

“To address these challenges, we need better evidence on how to support healthier food purchasing patterns to improve health and wellbeing, while also considering environmental impact and sustainability.

We will work with people living with obesity and food insecurity to understand the key issues they face while shopping. We will also work with the retail sector and policy makers to understand their perspectives too. This will then help is to identify any in-store changes that could be made to encourage healthier and more sustainable food purchasing.”

Funded by UK Research and Innovation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the three-year project will investigate consumer habits, covering a broad cross-section of consumers and will consider how issues around poverty, food insecurity and obesity may affect shopping habits. 

Working with Sainsbury’s supermarket, data will be gathered from the Sainsbury’s nectar reward cards of shoppers, and researchers will analyse food choices in a bid to improve understanding of food systems in the UK and provide evidence for supporting policy changes about retails strategies.