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Healthier vending machines in a university setting: Effective and financially sustainable
... However, universities and colleges do not have to follow the USDA standards, and only a few have implemented voluntary policies. 3 Several studies have tested college interventions to help consumers choose healthier snacks from VM. [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Such studies have tested different interventions, such as reducing the price of healthier items, classifying all vending items with traffic light system, providing nutritional information of products in VM, increasing availability of healthier items in VM, placing healthy items at eye level, and even removing unhealthy items from VM. Results from these studies have not been consistent and to our knowledge, only limited studies evaluated acceptability/satisfaction of any of the interventions implemented. 29,39 Evaluating students' perception of the effectiveness of interventions and their current snack purchasing behaviors, and the factors that inform their decisions around selecting healthier snacks will allow for tailored interventions to be created and tested. ...
... This shows the need to provide nutrition education to help in the identification of healthy snacks. Several interventions have been conducted on college campuses to improve sales or selection of healthy snacks from VM. [26][27][28][29][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Such studies tested similar nutrition interventions as the ones evaluated in the present survey, such as reducing the price of healthier items, identifying snack items with the traffic light system, providing nutritional information of products in VM, increasing availability of healthier items in VM, placing healthy items at eye level, and even removing unhealthy items from VM. However, most of these studies only tested one or two strategies at a time or a combination of strategies. ...
... This may explain the inconsistency of results. For example, some studies showed significant positive results in sales of healthy snacks, [26][27][28]36 but others did not show such positive results 29,[31][32][33]38 with the implemented strategies. However, to our knowledge, only the study by Lapp et al 29 evaluated the acceptability or satisfaction of any of the interventions implemented. ...
Objective
Evaluate college students’ perception of the effectiveness of different vending machine (VM) interventions for improving snack selection.
Participants
A total of 194 college students with the age of ≥18 years.
Method
A cross-sectional survey among a purposive sampling near VM.
Results
Most students use VM frequently or occasionally (63.4%). The intervention perceived as most helpful for choosing healthier snacks was labeling (on or near) which snack is healthy (score 3.83/5) followed by lowering the price of healthy options (score 3.33/5), while the least helpful was having posters nearby explaining which snacks are healthier (2.35/5). Participants suggested including snacks high in protein (58.8%) and low in sugar (56.2%). Most would like to see more healthy options in VM (83.5%) and will purchase them if available (67%).
Conclusions
Lowering the price for healthy snacks and including labels to indicate which are healthy may be the interventions to test for improving snack intake among college students.
... Of the 12 included studies, eight reported significant findings following intervention, with the most effective strategies being price reductions and increasing the availability of healthier items, resulting in increases in sales for healthier items. As four years has elapsed since this review was conducted and relevant studies in the university setting have since been published [13,14], an updated review of the evidence is warranted. ...
... In six studies, the interventions targeted food items only, three studies targeted drink items only, three studies targeted both food and drink items, and in one study this was unclear. The types of intervention strategies included promotion of healthier food and drink choices (n = 11, 85%) [13,14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], increasing the availability of healthier food and drinks within vending machines (n = 8, 62%) [13,14,[22][23][24][25][26][27], price alterations (n = 4, 31%) [13,14,20,24], and modifying product placement within vending machines (n = 2, 15%) [14,23]. Interventions in seven studies involved more than one of these strategies, with three studies using two strategies [20,22,25], three studies using three strategies [13,23,24], and one study using four strategies [14]. ...
... The types of intervention strategies included promotion of healthier food and drink choices (n = 11, 85%) [13,14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], increasing the availability of healthier food and drinks within vending machines (n = 8, 62%) [13,14,[22][23][24][25][26][27], price alterations (n = 4, 31%) [13,14,20,24], and modifying product placement within vending machines (n = 2, 15%) [14,23]. Interventions in seven studies involved more than one of these strategies, with three studies using two strategies [20,22,25], three studies using three strategies [13,23,24], and one study using four strategies [14]. The most common combinations of strategies were increasing the availability and promotion of healthier food and/or drink choices [22,25] and increasing the availability and promotion of healthier food and/or drink choices and price alterations [13,24], used in two studies each. ...
University food environments typically offer an abundance of unhealthy foods, including through vending machines. This review evaluated the effectiveness of nutrition interventions in vending machines in the university setting. Ten databases were searched for experimental studies published up to July 2019, evaluating nutrition interventions that aimed to encourage the purchase or consumption of healthier foods and drinks in vending machines in the university setting. In total, 401 articles were identified, and 13 studies were included. Studies were pre-post test (n = 7, 54%), randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n = 5, 38%), and non-randomized controlled trial (n = 1, 8%). Most studies were from the USA (n = 10, 77%) and were published between 2014 and 2018 (n = 9, 69%). Eight interventions (62%) reported positive change in outcomes, including increased number/proportion of sales or revenue from healthier items (n = 6), improved adherence to guidelines for the ratio of healthy/unhealthy products available (n = 1), and improved consumer perception of items available (n = 1). Effective interventions involved the promotion, reduced pricing, increased availability, and/or optimized product placement of healthier items within vending machines. Strategies to improve the nutritional quality of food and drinks in vending machines are warranted. This may be achieved by making healthier options more available and promoting them; however, more robust intervention studies are needed to determine effectiveness.
... To date, no studies have investigated the effectiveness of introducing new healthy vending machines alongside existing vending machines. Such a strategy would offer a way around the often-encountered barrier of potential reduced revenue (15)(16)(17) , whereby vending machine operators are understandably hesitant to replace popular (unhealthy) items in their machines with potentially less popular healthy items. However, adding more options via new machines and leaving the other options unchanged is less likely to affect revenue. ...
... The new machines appear to potentially shift original consumers' choices towards healthier options. In so doing, they provide further evidence that introducing healthy vending machines containing healthier options does not necessarily decrease revenue (15)(16)(17) . In addition, as this type of intervention has been shown to be supported by the general public (4) , vending machine operators could improve their public image by catering to these demands for healthier item options. ...
Objective
To investigate whether the introduction of healthy vending machines on a university campus could increase the proportion of healthy food and beverage purchases.
Design
Four new healthy vending machines offering a wider range of healthier food and beverages were installed alongside existing machines. These new machines used traffic light colours to indicate nutritional value. A year after their installation, a traffic light text guide and colourful wrap were added to the new machines. Chi-square tests were used to assess significant differences in the sales of green (healthy), amber, or red (unhealthy) items from healthy and existing vending machines across the three years (2021 – 2023).
Setting
The study was conducted on a university campus where the new healthy vending machines were installed.
Participants
Participants of this study were the consumers who purchased items from the vending machines on the university campus.
Results
The results indicated a shift towards healthier purchases following the introduction of the healthy vending machines. The addition of the traffic light text guide and colourful wrap further reduced unhealthy purchases, although this change was small. Sales from the existing vending machines did not meaningfully decrease, and any reductions were more than replaced by sales from the new healthy vending machines.
Conclusions
The study concluded that by providing healthier options and guiding consumers towards these options, the vending machine program offers a promising pathway towards promoting healthier food and beverage choices from vending machines on university campuses.
... 6 They have often been overlooked as possible conduits of practical, nutrition intervention strategies to improve the built food environment for student. 7 Predominant vending machine options are shelf-stable, are high in sugar, sodium, and fats; as exemplified by chips, soft drinks and sweets. 6 Research attests that students' selection from vending machines tend to gravitate toward less nutritious snacks than their healthier counterparts. ...
... As a convenient and easily accessible source for a wide variety of foods and beverages, they can be a wide-ranging, influential source to foster a healthpromoting food environment for college students. 7 However, research indicates that majority of snack and beverage options in college-based vending machines are of poor nutritional quality, thereby necessitating a need for practical and affordable nutrition interventions. 21 In our study sample, even though majority of the foods and beverages were highly processed, 62% of snacks could be categorized as "smart snacks" for sodium. ...
Students from nutritionally-vulnerable neighborhoods face dietary challenges through built environment of college vending machines. In this cross-sectional study, snacks and beverages sold in vending machines for a 4-week period in a Bronx-based Hispanic-serving college were recorded. Nutritional information was recorded from nutrition labels. Proportion of low- and high-sodium foods, “smart snacks” with a limit of 200 kcal and 200 mg of sodium, and foods with added sugar were recorded. Snacks had significantly higher calories and sodium per serving (227 kcal, 208 mg) than beverages (132 kcal, 90 mg) ( t-test, p < 0.001). Almost a third of the snacks (32%) qualified as “smart snacks” for calories and 62% qualified as “smart snacks” for sodium. Beverages contained less than half the number of ingredients as snacks. About 53% of beverages and almost 60% of snacks listed sugar among the first five ingredients. Results underscore the need for colleges to promote less-processed entities with less added sugar.
... Gıda otomatları konusunda yapılan uluslararası çalışmalarda, gıda otomatlarında bulunan gıdaların enerji yoğunluğunun, doymuş yağ, şeker ve tuz içeriğinin yüksek olduğu gösterilmiştir (7)(8)(9). Bu çalışmalarda, gıda otomatlarına sağlıklı alternatiflerinin eklenmesinin ve gıda otomatlarında yer alan ürün içeriklerinin tüketici tarafından daha anlaşılabilir uyarılara dönüştürülmesinin, üniversite öğrencileri tarafından sağlıklı seçimlerin yapılmasını sağlayabileceği bildirilmiştir (8,9). Bu çalışmada, üniversite kampüslerinde yer alan gıda otomatlarının ürün içeriklerinin enerji, toplam yağ, doymuş yağ, şeker ve tuz yönünden değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. ...
... Gıda otomatları konusunda yapılan uluslararası çalışmalarda, gıda otomatlarında bulunan gıdaların enerji yoğunluğunun, doymuş yağ, şeker ve tuz içeriğinin yüksek olduğu gösterilmiştir (7)(8)(9). Bu çalışmalarda, gıda otomatlarına sağlıklı alternatiflerinin eklenmesinin ve gıda otomatlarında yer alan ürün içeriklerinin tüketici tarafından daha anlaşılabilir uyarılara dönüştürülmesinin, üniversite öğrencileri tarafından sağlıklı seçimlerin yapılmasını sağlayabileceği bildirilmiştir (8,9). Bu çalışmada, üniversite kampüslerinde yer alan gıda otomatlarının ürün içeriklerinin enerji, toplam yağ, doymuş yağ, şeker ve tuz yönünden değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. ...
Amaç: Bu çalışma, üniversite kampüslerindeki gıda otomatlarında bulunan yiyecek ve içecek çeşitlerinin belirlenmesi ve enerji ve besin ögesi içeriklerinin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmada, Ankara’da yer alan üç büyük devlet üniversitesinin merkez kampüslerinde bulunan yiyecek ve içecek otomatları incelenmiştir. Araştırmada, lokasyon olarak kütüphaneler, idari binalar ve derslik binalarında bulunan ve aynı alanda yanyana konumlandırılan 15 içecek otomatı, 16 yiyecek otomatı olmak üzere toplam 31 gıda ve içecek otomatı (n=31) değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Porsiyondaki medyan enerji içeriği en yüksek olan gıdalar kruvasanlar (227.5 kkal), gofretler (205.2 kkal), kekler (173.2 kkal), tatlı bisküviler (144.6 kkal) ve çikolatalar (126.6 kkal) olarak sıralanmıştır. Porsiyonundaki enerji içeriği en düşük olan gıdalar ise tuzlu krakerler (68.4 kkal), tuzlu bisküviler (68.6 kkal) ve sandviçler (77.5 kkal) olarak bulunmuştur. Gıda gruplarında yer alan farklı ürün çeşitlerinin trafik ışığı etiketleme sistemine göre yağ, doymuş yağ, şeker ve tuz içeriklerine bakıldığında her dört parametre için yapılan değerlendirmede “yeşil” olarak kategorize edilen gıdanın yalnızca sandviçler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Trafik ışığı etiketleme sistemine göre değerlendirmesi yapılan yağ, doymuş yağ, şeker ve tuz içeriklerine göre en çok “kırmızı” kategoride yer alan gıda grupları kekler, tatlı bisküviler, kruvasanlar ve çikolatalar olarak belirlenmiştir. Sonuç: Bu çalışmada, üniversite kampüslerinde bulunan gıda otomatlarında yer alan yiyecek ve içecek çeşitliliğinin, özellikle sağlıklı gıdalar açısından, çok sınırlı olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Konuyla ilgili eğiticiler olarak diyetisyenlerin ve mevzuat geliştirilmesi noktasında politika yapıcıların farkındalıklarının artırılması gerekmektedir.
... These concepts are partially in line with the results from research among students at FIU in 2018 and 2019, which indicated that they too felt that the content of the VMs should be improved and that educating and enticing consumers to use healthy VMs was important [32,38]. These ideas are also in line with the strategies that other universities, municipalities, and researchers have used to improve their snack food environments [39][40][41][42]. Both the University of Michigan (UM) and the University of California (UC) have developed policies related to the snack food environment that included increasing the proportion of healthy items offered and identifying and enrolling key stakeholders to lead the efforts. ...
... So too, the loss of revenue has been found to be a barrier to implementing and designing policies to improve food environments in prior research [6,7,43,44]. Other universities have utilized pilot studies to identify the foods that consumers will purchase to offset this concern, while others have incorporated substantial marketing campaigns to do so [39][40][41]. However, the participants in this study discussed how revenue from VMs which is used for bonuses, scholarships, and recruitment incentives were implicated when they were considering making changes to the snack food environment. ...
(1) College campuses pose numerous public health challenges for students, faculty and staff. The healthfulness of the snacks available on campuses is lacking, and there is a desire for change among the students and staff. The objective of this study is to understand the perspectives of the students, staff, and decision makers regarding the college campus food environment and the perceived facilitators and barriers to improving it. (2) In-depth interviews were conducted (n = 15) with decision makers in food, policy development, wellness, and nutrition at a large Hispanic-Serving University in South Florida. (3) The key stakeholders shared that educational campaigns, student buy-in, raising awareness around obesity and chronic disease, and the university’s position within the community would all help to facilitate improvements to the snack food environment. However, the participants noted that the complex nature of what is considered to be healthy and what divergent consumers want are significant barriers to improving the snack food environment along with concerns over lost revenue and the corporate structure. (4) These results inform potential focal points for multi-level interventions and inform policy discussions focused on improving the snack food environment at minority-serving universities. Taking strategic actions to improve the snack food environment may aid the students and staff of the university to enhance their diet quality.
... Snacking and vending products are a source of intake for Americans and others [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], contributing to overall dietary quality and potentially influencing weight management [5,[8][9][10][11]. Numerous vending interventions have attempted to improve children, college student, and employee dietary intake [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Evaluating and tracking the healthfulness of vending machine products is necessary to assess intervention and policy efforts [12,[19][20][21][22][23]. ...
... To influence consumer behavior and promote a healthful vending environment, an extensive vending machine policy targeting multiple aspects (product healthfulness, pricing, and promotion) may be necessary [50]. Primary and secondary schools [22,23,[51][52][53] are more pro-active than post-secondary institutions/employers in terms of setting vending nutrient/snack policies [17]; however, monitoring results convey difficulties that some schools face in actually meeting the guidelines [22,23] One study found, a combination of sufficient, price-reduced, healthy vending options with health promotional messaging increases healthy product purchases from vending machines [46], however, it is still inconclusive of the sustained effect of pricing changes or the effect of these vending interventions on profits [15,16,54]. ...
Background: This paper describes the development and validation of the Vending Evaluation for Nutrient-Density (VEND)ing audit to comprehensively evaluate vended products based upon healthfulness, price and promotion, and machine accessibility. Methods: A novel vending nutrient-density score was created to determine the healthfulness of vended snack/beverage products. Field tested in United States colleges, VENDing audit (∑nutrient-density + 10 × % healthy products) and Support sub-scores (price + promotion + accessibility) were calculated for snack/beverage machines. Higher scores indicate more healthful vending options and supports for choosing healthfully. Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Vending (NEMS-V) was used to validate the nutrient-density score for a sub-sample of machines. Sensitivity and specificity were computed by comparing the number of healthy snacks/beverages determined by NEMS-V and the VENDing nutrient-density scores. Results: Researchers conducted the VENDing audit on 228 snack/beverage vending machines at 9 universities within the United States and used both VENDing and NEMS-V on 33 snack and 52 beverage vending machines. Mean VENDing audit scores were 4.5 ± 2.0 (2.6, 3.4) and 2.6 ± 2.0 (0, 12) for snack/beverage machines, respectively. The number of products considered healthy assessed with both the VENDing nutrient-density scores and the NEMS-V were positively correlated for beverages (r = 0.687, p < 0.001) and snacks (r = 0.366, p < 0.05). The sensitivity was excellent for beverages (0.83) and moderate for snacks (0.69); while the specificity was moderate for both beverages (0.66) and snacks (0.50). Conclusions: The VENDing audit uses unique, valid, and reliable nutrient-density scoring to evaluate snacks/beverages along a continuum of healthful criteria and comprehensively evaluates the full vending environment.
... The vending machine business industry might not be a primary focus of academic research in Malaysia. Most previous research on vending machines involved technology and health-related aspects (Kung-Jeng & Natalia, 2024, Hasan et al., 2021, Viana et al, 2018. However, there is a need to understand the scenario that happens in this industry from a business perspective. ...
The vending machine industry has evolved from conventional to connected machines. Vending machines are currently in wide use and typically involve a remote machine holding a plurality of products or items to be dispensed after receiving money from a purchaser. The industry has gone beyond just delivering snacks and is developing new and sophisticated retail solutions for both large and small companies. In this study, a qualitative inquiry was conducted in one of the branch universities of the largest public universities in Malaysia. A total of three vending machine entrepreneurs were qualitatively interviewed individually. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed to find a common theme. As a result, three challenges were identified: using a lot of paper, being time-consuming, and having no alert process. Contract renewal is significant and should not be taken for granted and it is a far-sighted move for a business manager to use the most efficient process from start to end. The respondent agreed that the current renewal process is redundant and time-consuming. Therefore, the researchers proposed to all the parties to reduce the hassle of renewing the contract. Based on this research, the authority department in public or private universities can develop an innovation in monitoring systems to improve the process. The results can provide suitable coping strategies for business owners to have the best practices for a contract renewal mechanism.
... Two recent systematic reviews previously considered individual behavior within the college food environment [22,23]. Although our review did not have a behavioral outcome focus, seven studies using innovative approaches for assessing individual behaviors made it to the final screening stage [62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. These articles were screened out due to not reporting campus food environment assessment results or a lack of a description of the methods for assigning a healthfulness score to menu items captured with sales data. ...
The availability, promotion, and price of healthy foods within the university food environment may impact students’ dietary choices. This systematic review summarizes the tools and methods used to assess the healthfulness of university food environments where many students spend a significant portion of their emerging adulthood. Thirty-six global studies published between 2012 and 2022 were sourced from PubMed (NNLM), Cochrane Library (Wiley), Web of Science (Clarivate), APA PsycInfo (EBSCO), CINHAL Complete (EBSCO), ProQuest Nursing, and Allied Health, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Of the included studies, 58% were institutional-level audits, 17% examined individual-level perceptions, and 25% combined both. Most institutional-level audits focused on one aspect of the food environment (e.g., eateries, vending machines). For studies examining multiple spaces within the campus environment (38%), comprehensive assessments were limited, and most studies had to employ a combination of assessment tools. Surveys were most often used to gather individual perceptions about the food environment. The Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) was the most commonly used tool across all studies. This review highlights the need for a standardized tool, method, or a “healthy” benchmark for specific use at universities to improve methodological rigor and comparability of findings across institutions.
... 24,25 In fact, as recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, consuming healthy snacks is part of a healthy diet. 26 Although there are several interventions conducted on college campuses to improve sales or selection of healthy snacks from vending machines, [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] to our knowledge, there is a lack of data on the effects of these interventions on diet quality. ...
Objective:
To determine if using the Snackability app improves snack intake among college students.
Participants:
US college students with overweight/obesity were recruited in June 2020-April 2021.
Methods:
A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the Snackability app use for 12 wk on snack scores (calculated from the app) compared to controls. We also explored the effect on diet quality (Healthy Eating Index-2015) and weight. Outcomes were compared between the intervention and the control groups at 4, 8, and 12 wk using repeated measures ANOVA.
Results:
Participants in the app group significantly increased snack score at week 4 (p < 0.001) and week 8 (p = 0.015) and increased HEI-2020 score (p < 0.001) at week 4 compared to controls. The first 4 wk had the highest app usage. No significant differences were seen in body weight.
Conclusions:
The Snackability app can be used as a tool to help improve snack and diet quality in this group.
... According to the authors, the policy has elicited important positive nutritional, economic and commercial effects, motivating the service manager to adopt, improve and implement similar interventions in other settings. However, Viana et al. (2018) presented results from some of the most common interventions in the literature when it comes to vending, namely increasing the quantity of healthier products, labelling them and increasing prices on less healthy foods. This initiative has been effective not only at increasing sales and consumption of healthier products, but also at maintaining profit margins. ...
This paper reviews the literature on sustainability in the food vending industry to understand whether: (1) the topic of sustainable development is addressed at the academic level when it comes to the sector; (2) whether or not the industry is on the right track towards sustainability, considering only academic knowledge; and (3) what might be useful topics for its development. To this end, 71 articles were analysed using Scopus as a database. The results indicate a rather fragmented situation and a clear prevalence of studies focussed on social and nutritional issues, leaving little room for environmental or circular economy-related issues. However, the analysis also revealed that the field holds potential for sustainable transformation in the agribusiness sector. Future studies could use this review as a springboard for further investigation.
... This finding is important because packaged snacks are ubiquitous on college campuses in the US, particularly in convenience markets and vending machines. Notably, university vending machines have been found to have a high prevalence of nutritionally poor food items documented in the literature [38,[41][42][43][57][58][59]. For example, according to a cross-sectional analysis from an urban university, 95% of the food offerings and 49% of the beverages in vending machines were unhealthy [43]. ...
In the United States, there is an opportunity to improve the nutritional health of university students through the campus food environment. This project used a content analysis approach to investigate whether healthy food standards and policies were incorporated into the contract agreements between North Carolina (NC) public universities and their food service management companies. Food service contracts were collected from 14 NC public universities using food service management companies on campus. Each contract was evaluated using the 35-item North Carolina Food Service Policy Guidelines Assessment to examine four elements of the campus food environment: Beverages, Packaged Snacks, Prepared Foods, and Other (e.g., strategic placement of healthier food). Five university food service contracts incorporated no North Carolina Food Service Policy Guidelines, three university contracts included one to five guidelines, and six university contracts included six to nine guidelines. Altogether, 13 of the 35 guidelines were incorporated into at least one university food service contract. This project presents a cost and time-effective assessment method for determining if evidence-based nutrition guidelines have been included in university food service contracts. This approach and findings may lead to contract revisions to improve the campus food environment and, subsequently, the nutritional health of college populations.
... According to the 2020 State of the Vending Industry Report, vending machines are becoming increasingly more prevalent and available in several settings including schools, universities, healthcare facilities, and various worksites (Igudia, 2020). In the Unites States, it was estimated that around 10$ billion are spent on snack and candies in vending machines and 24$ billion on cold drinks per year (Viana et al., 2018). With the expansion of this market, it becomes crucial to evaluate the nutritive value of food items offered in vending machines as they are contributing more to the individual's daily caloric intake. ...
Purpose
The aim is to evaluate the nutritive value of vended machine items at university campuses in Lebanon and to explore the factors associated with the use of vending machines among students.
Design/methodology/approach
Campuses ( n = 32) were screened for the presence of vending machines, and items sold in those machines ( n = 21) were observed and assessed for their nutritive value. Also, a convenient sample of 603 students completed a web-based questionnaire investigating the association between the use of vending machines with the eating habits and body composition. Independent t -tests or chi-square, in addition to non-parametric test (Mann–Whitney) were conducted. Significance level of 0.05 was used.
Findings
Vending machine snacks sold in 20 out of 21 universities were high in sugar (32.1 g/100 g), fat (29 g/100 g) and saturated fat (10.5 g/100 g), while for beverages, 20% of the universities had them high in sugar (9.5 g/100 ml), fat (2.9 g/100 g) and saturated fat (1.7 g/100 g). The use of vending machines around campus was associated with significantly higher weekly consumption of crisps, savory snacks and milk. The majority of the participants were vending machine users (77.1%). Vending machine users had a higher weekly consumption of crisps and savory snacks (3.6 ± 4.3 vs 2.3 ± 3.3; p = 0.008) and a higher weekly consumption of milk (4.0 ± 4.2 vs 3.0 ± 3.6; p = 0.036).
Originality/value
No study has determined the nutritive value of vending machines in universities in Lebanon, nor investigated the associated factors with their use.
... A entrada no ensino superior é um período transicional muito importante para os jovens adultos pela aquisição de uma maior independência nas escolhas alimentares, provocando um constante desafio na realização de opções alimentares mais saudáveis (1). Sendo um local de permanência regular para esta faixa etária, as instituições de ensino superior devem assumir um papel ativo, na construção de um ambiente promotor de saúde. ...
INTRODUÇÃO:
A entrada no ensino superior é um período transicional muito importante pela aquisição de uma maior independência nas escolhas alimentares. Nos últimos anos, tem aumentado o número de Máquinas de Venda Automática de Alimentos e Bebidas nos estabelecimentos de ensino, contribuindo para a oferta alimentar institucional.
OBJETIVOS:
Caracterizar a oferta de alimentos e bebidas nas Máquinas de Venda Automática de Alimentos e Bebidas da Universidade do Porto.
METODOLOGIA:
Desenvolvimento e aplicação de um formulário para avaliação da oferta alimentar das Máquinas de Venda Automática de Alimentos e Bebidas presentes nas 14 faculdades e nos 2 cafés E-learning da Universidade do Porto. A recolha de dados foi efetuada no 2.º semestre do ano letivo 2018/2019. Entre todas as máquinas de bebidas quentes avaliadas foram escolhidas 6 máquinas, uma de cada uma das empresas fornecedoras identificadas, para a recolha de amostras do açúcar padrão e máximo disponibilizado. A categorização dos alimentos e bebidas em permitidos e proibidos, bem como, a análise das quantidades de açúcar disponibilizadas, seguiram o estabelecido no Despacho 7516-A/2016.
RESULTADOS:
Nas 123 máquinas avaliadas, os géneros alimentícios encontrados com maior frequência foram os refrigerantes (16,7%), as águas sem gás (16,3%) e os produtos de pastelaria (10,9%). Nos equipamentos avaliados, 49% dos géneros alimentícios presentes (com uma variação de 15,6% a 56,3% nos diferentes locais) foram considerados como proibidos. Não existiram diferenças significativas na disponibilização de géneros alimentícios permitidos e proibidos em Máquinas de Venda Automática de Alimentos e Bebidas instaladas em faculdades da área de saúde e de outras áreas. Nenhuma distribuidora cumpriu com os 5 g de açúcar máximo definido.
CONCLUSÕES:
Perante os dados obtidos, parece evidente a necessidade de reformular a oferta alimentar nestes equipamentos da Universidade do Porto, no sentido de melhorar a qualidade dos géneros alimentícios disponibilizados e promover escolhas alimentares mais adequadas.
... Gathering preliminary information on food choices and perceptions on college campuses is paramount to understand how to implement interventions to improve VM food options. Intervention studies have attempted to manipulate pricing, using the traffic light system, providing nutritional information, increasing availability of healthy items, and other interventions (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34), but the results from these studies have not been consistent in affecting purchasing behaviors. Additionally, there are very limited studies focusing on students' attitudes, higher education institutions, and among Hispanics, a group with a high risk of chronic conditions (35)(36)(37)(38)(39). ...
Introduction: Food in vending machines in US colleges contain limited nutritious foods available for purchase, which could affect the food choices made by students leading to poor diet quality. Interventions to improve college foodscapes usually follow a top-down approach and fail to affect dietary behavioral changes ultimately. This research aims to uncover what students want and ways to achieve change.
Methods: The mixed-methods approach included peer-led qualitative focus group discussions and a brief quantitative questionnaire on satisfaction from foods available in vending machines. A convenience sample of 20 students (15 females) was recruited from a Hispanic serving institution for this study.
Results: Vending machines were perceived as convenient, plentiful, and unhealthy. Students expressed dissatisfaction with both the variety and nutritional quality of snacks in vending machines. Suggestions for improvement included more fresh items (fruits and vegetables) and refrigerated items with higher protein content (low-fat yogurt, hummus, and peanut butter). To implement these improvements, participants discussed the cost and feasibility of perishable items. Increasing awareness and partnering strategies were proposed to mediate potential cost and buy-in obstacles as was elevating the appeal of healthy vending machines with technological enhancements that draw customers in and educate.
Conclusion and Implication for Practice: This group of college students was eager for positive changes in foods sold in vending machines and understand the major difficulties. The suggested changes may help this and other colleges develop policies to regulate the foods in vending machines to promote overall health and help prevent chronic diseases in the future.
... A recent study in the UAE assessed the nutritional value of snacks and beverages in VMs at four university campuses and revealed that 65% of them were calorie-dense and offered a high content of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat [8]. Moreover, a series of recent studies have indicated that foods and beverages sold in the VMs tend to be low in nutritional value and high in calories, fat, salt, and sugar [9][10][11]. ...
Vending machines (VMs) have been identified as an obesogenic factor, offering mainly energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods, with limited healthy options available. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess consumption trends and attitude toward vending machine (VM) foods in a university setting. A web-based survey was conducted among 1250 students and staff. Most participants reported weight gain (43.4%) and poorer food choices (53.4%) since joining the university. Participants described VM foods as expensive (53.7%) and lacking variety (34.3%). Over 81% demanded the availability of healthier options. About 75% of participants were VMs users. The most frequently purchased VM items were water, chocolate, and chips. Males reported consuming nuts, soda, iced tea, and energy drinks more frequently than females (p < 0.005). The main reasons for using the VM were hunger and lack of time. Over 40% nominated fresh fruits, baked chips, sandwiches, and dry roasted nuts to be provided in the VMs as healthier food options. Males and those responsible for buying their own food were more likely to select healthier options (p = 0.001). Findings can be used to inform stakeholders of current vending behaviors and to plan tailored interventions to improve the nutritional quality of vended items and promote healthier food choices.
... Although it is not possible to determine the extent to which these changes were caused by the policy, the policy did not appear to hurt revenues, a common concern when implementing nutrition standards. 17 Sales in 2020 were severely impacted by the campus closure because of the pandemic, and thus, these data were not included in this analysis. ...
University nutrition policies are a useful step toward improving the food environment for students, faculty, and staff, leading to improved health outcomes for the campus community. As 1 of the first universities to adopt and implement a campus-wide nutrition policy, the objective of this report is to share the university's experience with policy development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, challenges, facilitators, and recommendations to inform these processes for future university nutrition policies.
... Thus, even those consumers who are aware of a healthy diet at the moment of choosing do not have the option of a healthy choice [36]. Healthier vending machine programs have already been implemented abroad in various settings such as hospitals [43], city parks [44], public buildings and government offices [45], and schools and university campuses [46][47][48][49][50]. Strategies that have already been used overseas mainly include enhancing healthier products on offer [43,[51][52][53] and changing prices and promoting healthier choices with posters, brands and stickers [3,4,[54][55][56][57]. ...
Background
Vending machines represent one way of offering food, but they are overlooked in the efforts to improve people’s eating habits. The aim of our study was to analyse the variety and nutritional values of beverages offered in vending machines in social and health care institution in Slovenia.
Methods
The available beverages were quantitatively assessed using traffic light profiling and the model for nutrient profiling used by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Vending machines in 188 institutions were surveyed, resulting in 3046 different beverages consisting of 162 unique product labels.
Results
Between 51 and 54% of beverages were categorised as unhealthy with regard to sugar content. Water accounted for only 13.7% of all beverages in vending machines. About 82% of beverages in vending machines were devoted to sugar-sweetened beverages, the majority (58.9%) presented in 500-ml bottles. The average sugar content and average calories in beverages sold in vending machines are slightly lower than in beverages sold in food stores.
Conclusions
We suggest that regulatory guidelines should be included in the tender conditions for vending machines in health and social care institutions, to ensure healthy food and beverage choices.
... Various authors have pointed out that the price effects of vending machine products were strong on consumer purchasing patterns [10,19], and when options of HNQ were offered at a reduced cost, the sales of options with HNQ increased [20,47,48]. However, the effects of price and product interventions on profits are still inconclusive [49,50]. Concern that price changes would reduce sales and profit may impede managers from offering food and drink choices with HNQ. ...
Background:
Given the lack of data about the nutritional value and other determinants of the consumption of foods and drinks sold in vending machines in European universities and the relevance of this sector in Spain, it is necessary to obtain scientific data on this topic. The present study aimed to assess the availability, nutritional profile and processing level of food products from vending machines at a Spanish public university and to investigate differences in nutritional profile according to the cost and promotion.
Methods:
Cross-sectional descriptive study. Data from all products available (3894) were collected and analysed using the criteria of the Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition and the United Kingdom nutrient profiling model. The items were also classified according to the degree of industrial processing through the NOVA system. Promotion was assessed, taking into account where products were displayed in vending machines.
Results:
The most common products were sweets (23.4% of the total options), coffee (20.3%) and salty snacks (11.7%). According to the combination of the two criteria used to assess nutritional profile, 48.6% of the products were classified as with low nutritional quality (LNQ). In addition, 73.8% of the items were categorised as "ultra-processed". Foods (β = 0.31, 95% CI 0.24, 0.39, p < 0.001) and hot drinks (β = 0.46, 95% CI 0.39, 0.52, p < 0.001) with high nutritional quality (HNQ) were more likely to have higher prices than alternatives with LNQ. Both foods and cold drinks that support healthy dietary recommendations were promoted to a lesser extent than those with LNQ (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Almost half of the products were of LNQ and three-quarters had a high level of processing. Moreover, foods and cold drinks with LNQ were less expensive and more often promoted than alternatives with HNQ.
... Consistent with existing reviews on point-of-purchase nutrition labeling, we found mixed evidence on the effectiveness of labels in supporting healthy eating patterns (101-107) given differences in observed outcomes and data collection instruments. Interventions utilizing choice architecture strategies also demonstrated mixed effectiveness when implemented alone; however, some interventions demonstrated the potential of choice architecture strategies when paired with other strategies such as nutrition labeling (71,87). Interventions using economic tools, such as price changes or reward programs, demonstrated significant increases in purchases of targeted foods and beverages (e.g., fruit, milk) and decreases in purchases of less healthy foods (e.g., French fries) (70,71,69). ...
Interventions are urgently needed to transform the food system and shift population eating patterns toward those consistent with human health and environmental sustainability. Postsecondary campuses offer a naturalistic setting to trial interventions to improve the health of students and provide insight into interventions that could be scaled up in other settings. However, the current state of the evidence on interventions to support healthy and environmentally sustainable eating within postsecondary settings is not well understood. A scoping review of food- and nutrition-related interventions implemented and evaluated on postsecondary campuses was conducted to determine the extent to which they integrate considerations related to human health and/or environmental sustainability, as well as to synthesize the nature and effectiveness of interventions and to identify knowledge gaps in the literature. MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL, Scopus, and ERIC were searched to identify articles describing naturalistic campus food interventions published in English from January 2015 to December 2019. Data were extracted from 38 peer-reviewed articles, representing 37 unique interventions, and synthesized according to policy domains within the World Cancer Research Foundation's NOURISHING framework. Most interventions were focused on supporting human health, whereas considerations related to environmental sustainability were minimal. Interventions to support human health primarily sought to increase nutrition knowledge or to make complementary shifts in food environments, such as through nutrition labeling at point of purchase. Interventions to support environmental sustainability often focused on reducing food waste and few emphasized consumption patterns with lower environmental impacts. The implementation of integrated approaches considering the complexity and interconnectivity of human and planetary health is needed. Such approaches must go beyond the individual to alter the structural determinants that shape our food system and eating patterns.
... While the 554 HSE HVP did not incorporate a reduction in price of BC items or an increase in price of OC 555 items in its intervention, one of the most common methods of improving the food environment 556 of a specific setting via VMs is to increase the affordability of BC items through price 557 discounts. Given the established relationship changes in price and demand, it is not surprising 558 that interventions implementing a price discount for HPs in the past have led to an increase in 559 demand for HPs (Appelhans et al., 2018;Viana et al., 2018). Indeed, when Viana et al. 2018 560 carried out their healthier vending intervention in a university setting, they reported that 561 individuals were eight times more likely to purchase a HP following a price increase on UPs. ...
Vending machines provide quick and easy access to snacks and, in general, provide few healthy options to consumers. Given this high availability of unhealthy foods in vending machines, consumers are likely to purchase and consume a less healthy option. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a Healthier Vending policy in all Health Service Executive (HSE) premises across the Republic of Ireland on unit sales of vending machine snacks. Under the policy, the contents of vending machines were altered so that healthier, Better Choice (BC), snacks would constitute a majority of the vending machine stock (minimum 60%) in comparison to the less healthy, Other Choice (OC), snacks. Snacks were defined as BC if they contained: ≤ 150kcals/packet, ≤ 20g/100 g total fat, ≤ 5g/100 g saturated fat, ≤ 15g/100 g sugar, and ≤ 1.5g/100 g salt/sodium. Products stocked as OC should be ≤ 250kcals/packet. BC snacks were placed in prime slots and at eye-level in order to prompt the consumer towards buying a BC snack, with OC snacks being placed to incentivise the choice of BC snacks. Consumers were also incentivised to purchase BC snacks through written cues that appear on the vending machines. Sales data was provided by vending companies for 2015 (baseline) and 2016 (year 1). Unit sales of all snack types increased between the two time points, with the exception of dried fruit and nuts. The proportion of OC products purchased relative to total unit sales decreased following the intervention, as did the proportion of gum and mints and dried fruit and nuts sales. While the proportion of BC crisps purchased relative to total unit sales increased post-intervention, an increase in the proportion of OC bars purchased relative to total unit sales was also seen. Sales of both BC and OC dried fruit/nuts relative to total unit sales decreased. Our results indicate that policies aiming to improve the nutrition environment in health care settings, through increasing the availability of healthy products in vending machines and promoting their purchase, could be an effective method of reducing the amount of unhealthy products purchased overall. These policies can alter consumers’ purchasing patterns and prompt consumers towards purchasing a healthier/unhealthier version of the same product, as seen with crisps and bars in this study.
... Thus, even those consumers who are aware of a healthy diet at the moment of choosing, do not have the option of a healthy choice (35). Healthier vending machine programs have already been implemented abroad in various settings such as hospitals (43); city parks (44); public buildings, government o ces (45) and schools and university campuses (46)(47)(48)(49)(50). Strategies that have already been used overseas mainly include enhancing healthier products on offer (43,(51)(52)(53) and changing prices and promoting healthier choices with posters, brands, and stickers (3,4,(54)(55)(56)(57). ...
Background Vending machines represent one way of offering food, but they are overlooked in the efforts to improve people’s eating habits. The aim of our study was to analyse the variety and nutritional values of beverages offered in vending machines in social and health care institution in Slovenia.
Methods The available beverages were quantitatively assessed using traffic light profiling and the model for nutrient profiling used by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Vending machines in 188 institutions were surveyed, resulting in 3046 different beverages consisting of 162 unique product labels.
Results Between 51% and 54% of beverages were categorized as unhealthy with regard to sugar content. Water accounted for only 13.7% of all beverages in vending machines. About 82% of beverages in vending machines were devoted to sugar-sweetened beverages, the majority (58.9%) presented in 500 ml bottles. The average sugar content and average calories in beverages sold in vending machines are slightly lower than in beverages sold in food stores.
Conclusions We suggest that regulatory guidelines should be included in the tender conditions for vending machines in health and social care institutions, to ensure healthy food and beverage choices.
... The global path planning strategy and local path planning strategy of mobile robots are introduced in detail, and several corresponding planning algorithms are outlined for each planning strategy. And the search strategy based on state space of a global path planning strategy, namely the establishment of environment model based on grid method, barrier free global path planning and then use the classical A* algorithm of mobile vending machine in known environment [8]. ...
Objective: To audit the snack food environment and evaluate the availability of healthy items campus-wide, investigating high-traffic areas and the ways in which the placement and content of snack outlets may vary across different building types and distance to other food sources. Participants: All snack food vending machines (VM) and convenience stores (CS). Methods: A cross-sectional snack food audit was conducted between June 2019 and January 2022. VMs and CS were rated on the availability and healthfulness of foods and beverages. Frequency and distributions of snacks, healthy snacks, VM scores, building types, enrolled students, and distance to food were analyzed and differences were evaluated. Results: The campus-wide offerings of unhealthy foods in VM ranged from 84-92%, with clusters of buildings with fewer than five healthy items. CS ranked among the least healthy. Conclusions: The snack environment at this large Hispanic-serving university contains predominantly very unhealthy choices. A policy on snack foods is needed to promote healthy eating habits and prevent obesity.
The University of California (UC) Healthy Campus Network (HCN) is a robust network of diverse coalitions across 10 UC campuses, 5 UC teaching hospitals, and UC Agriculture & Natural Resources working to promote individual campus and systemwide changes toward a culture of health and equity. The success of this work has been evident in the HCN's ability to quickly pivot to meet emergent needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including social support through the UC Diabetes Prevention Program, tap water access for essential workers through the UC Healthy Beverage Initiative, and food security efforts through the UC Global Food Initiative. Building a culture of health and equity across a large public university system generated valuable lessons learned which enhanced the UC's preparedness and resilience in the face of the pandemic, and other institutions may benefit from these best practices to respond effectively to emergencies and thrive in states of relative normalcy.
Although diets influence health and the environment, measuring and changing nutrition is challenging. Traditional measurement methods face challenges, and designing and conducting behavior-changing interventions is conceptually and logistically complicated. Situated local communities such as university campuses offer unique opportunities to shape the nutritional environment and promote health and sustainability. The present study investigates how passively sensed food purchase logs typically collected as part of regular business operations can be used to monitor and measure on-campus food consumption and understand food choice determinants. First, based on 38 million sales logs collected on a large university campus over eight years, we perform statistical analyses to quantify spatio-temporal determinants of food choice and characterize harmful patterns in dietary behaviors, in a case study of food purchasing at EPFL campus. We identify spatial proximity, food item pairing, and academic schedules (yearly and daily) as important determinants driving the on-campus food choice. The case studies demonstrate the potential of food sales logs for measuring nutrition and highlight the breadth and depth of future possibilities to study individual food-choice determinants. We describe how these insights provide an opportunity for stakeholders, such as campus offices responsible for managing food services, to shape the nutritional environment and improve health and sustainability by designing policies and behavioral interventions. Finally, based on the insights derived through the case study of food purchases at EPFL campus, we identify five future opportunities and offer a call to action for the nutrition research community to contribute to ensuring the health and sustainability of on-campus populations—the very communities to which many researchers belong.
Objective
To test whether traffic light labels and an increased range of healthy beverages, individually and in combination, can increase healthy beverage choices from vending machines.
Design
Two studies ( n = 558, 420) tested whether the provision of traffic light labels (green, amber and red) and an increased range of healthy beverages (from 20% to 50% green options), individually and in combination, could increase healthy beverage choices from a digital vending machine display. The studies used a between-subjects experimental design, and a hypothetical beverage choice, a limitation when considering real-world applicability.
Setting
Both studies utilised an online Qualtrics survey that featured a digital vending machine display.
Participants
Both studies ( n = 558, 420) consisted of university students from Flinders University and individuals from a survey recruitment service.
Results
Featuring traffic lights did not significantly influence beverage choices ( p = .074), while increasing the healthy range ( p = .003, OR = 3.27), and the combination of both, did significantly increase healthier beverage choices ( p < .001, OR = 4.83).
Conclusions
The results suggest that the traffic light system and increased healthy range are not maximally effective when used on their own, and benefit greatly when combined, to increase healthy beverage choices. It was suggested that the provision of traffic light labels supplied the necessary nutritional information, and the increased healthy range offered greater opportunity to act in accordance with that information. In so doing, the present findings offer a promising pathway for reducing unhealthy beverage consumption.
The agribusiness sector needs substantial funding to initiate an ecological transition involving healthy diets and the creation of local circuits and linkages. One sector that has yet to be studied from this perspective is vending, whose importance is confirmed by its profits, especially in Italy. At present, the vending sector cannot be considered sustainable as it rarely contributes to the development of healthy diets and local economies with low environmental impact. There are cases of products with suitable characteristics that can push the sector towards more sustainable dynamics, but such products often do not achieve the success they deserve for various socioeconomic reasons. Access to financial investment or alternative modes of financing could help small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector overcome these difficulties.
Although vending machines emerged centuries ago, only recently have they regained popularity. This study aims to provide a systematic review of available marketing literature on food and drink vending channels to delineate under‐researched marketing areas that require further investigation. Therefore, the abstracts of 2,409 articles were manually screened, of which 98 were retained as the most relevant for further synthesis. The author organized the existing marketing literature from a consumer point of view around three main areas (i.e., product safety management, health nutrition promotion, and stakeholders’ commitment to policy measures) and three roughly equal time periods (i.e., 2000–2006, 2007–2013, and 2014–2020). The analysis identifies areas of vending wherein research is lacking: marketing trends regarding smart vending machines; consumer responses to vending experiences, especially cross‐culturally; and safety issues, which is especially pertinent with the increase in safety‐related articles since 2014 and the current COVID‐19 pandemic.
Purpose
Vending machines (VMs) provide quick access for snack foods and beverages for students during their study days. These vended foods have been reported to affect the student's nutritional status and contributing to obesity by increasing the caloric intake. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional value of snacks and beverages provided by VM at the university campuses.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional observational study in one large urban university with four campuses was conducted. In total, 55 VMs were found distributed over 50 buildings of the four university campuses. Of the vending slots surveyed, only 57 snacks and beverage food items were found repeated. These items were vended and analyzed using nutrient databases, and their nutritional quality was assessed using nutrient adequacy ratio and nutritional quality score.
Findings
Most vended snacks were salty (77%) and sweet (23%). Neither snacks nor beverages were nutrient-dense, and the majority (65%) of snacks and beverages were calorie-dense, with high contents of sugar, sodium and saturated fat; while they were low in vitamins C and A, calcium, iron, sodium, protein and dietary fibers. None of the vended beverages met the low calorie, low sugars and high-fiber criteria.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of the current work is represented in the fact that VM snacks and beverages are not fixed throughout the year days, and exposed to continuous changes, depending on the customers' attitudes and economic and financial considerations related to the operating contractor company and the customer students. Thus, a continuous, long-term evaluation is suggested to be conducted for a more representative and reflective evaluation of the nutritional quality of vended snacks and beverages.
Practical implications
Poor nutritional quality has been found for vended foods. Healthier food options should be provided to improve students' dietary intake.
Social implications
Attention has to be directed toward the nutritional quality of VM foods, and how to provide adolescents and young adults with healthy options.
Originality/value
This is the first study conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) assessing the nutritional value of vending machine foods in university settings.
The food systems of the Plekhanov Russian Economic University studied in detail. For comparison, studies on the other six leading universities in Moscow and data on many large foreign universities are presented. The demand for healthy nutrition in most universities and the development of a customer services network in them has been established. These problems are especially acute in the field of human nutrition, namely in the university nutrition system. Therefore, the authors studied the market situation with the demand for food services in universities (Russian and foreign). Surveys, questioning of a youth audience were carried out in order to ascertain the quality of culinary dishes and products, the level of service, assortment, methods of selling food and culinary products. In terms of improving the nutritional system of universities, it seems the best option for using vending sales, pizza and other innovations. However, problems were identified in the service of vending machines. Therefore, their most rational placement is necessary. Besides, it is necessary to form the required range of products and the related tasks of portioning, packaging, and logistics.
The current report explores how well vending machines are meeting the needs of health care organizations and their staff and visitors in Australia. Hospital vending machines often provide the only source of food through the night to staff and visitors and traditionally offer less-healthy options. Findings presented in this report suggest that vending machines are not meeting current statewide policies and guidelines for healthier food environments in health care. This is despite widespread support for healthier refreshments in hospitals by staff, visitors, and patients. Alternatives to traditional vending and opportunities for nutrition educators and researchers are discussed.
Background: The study goal was to evaluate the nutritional impact of a healthy snack intervention on a southern university campus.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted during the fall 2017 semester weekly for 14 weeks in a large southern U.S. university. For the intervention, half of vending snacks in four campus residential halls (housing from 216 to 361 students) were substituted with snacks complying with federal Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards for K-12 schools. For analysis, data from the Nutrition Facts labels of 14 vending machines or from manufacturer’s websites was collected by trained graduate and undergraduate researchers.
Results: On average, for each Smart Snack sold, there was a statistically significant reduction of 99.38 calories (CI=42.32, 156.43), 4 g saturated fat (CI = 2.23, 5.75), and 10.06 g of sugar(CI=2.92, 17.20). An average reduction of 41.88 mg in sodium and an increase of 0.81g in fiber was also found, but was not statistically significant. There was a significant difference (t(16)=3.02, P < 0.025, 95% CI = 10.77, 55.79) between the Quality Score of Smart Snacks (M=59.13,SD= ± 36.50) and that of non-compliant snacks (M=25.85, SD= ± 24.72).
Conclusion: The nutritional impact with even a 50% Smart Snack replacement is promising. Many available comparable snacks mimic the mouthfeel, taste, and appearance of their original full-fat, full-sodium, and full-sugar counterparts. Including healthier snack choices in vending machines may be a viable option for universities to transform the campus eating environment.
The way a choice is presented influences what a decision-maker chooses. This paper outlines the tools available to choice architects, that is anyone who present people with choices. We divide these tools into two categories: those used in structuring the choice task and those used in describing the choice options. Tools for structuring the choice task address the idea of what to present to decision-makers, and tools for describing the choice options address the idea of how to present it. We discuss implementation issues in using choice architecture tools, including individual differences and errors in evaluation of choice outcomes. Finally, this paper presents a few applications that illustrate the positive effect choice architecture can have on real-world decisions.
National, state, and local institutions that procure, distribute, sell, and/or serve food to employees, students, and the public are increasingly capitalizing on existing operational infrastructures to create healthier food environments. Integration of healthy nutrition standards and other recommended practices [e.g., energy (kilocalories) postings at point-of-purchase, portion size restrictions, product placement guidelines, and signage] into new or renewing food service and vending contracts codifies an institution's commitment to increasing the availability of healthful food options in their food service venues and vending machines. These procurement requirements, in turn, have the potential to positively influence consumers' food-purchasing behaviors. Although these strategies are becoming increasingly popular, much remains unknown about their context, the processes required to implement them effectively, and the factors that facilitate their sustainability, especially in such broad and diverse settings as schools, county government facilities, and cities. To contribute to this gap in information, we reviewed and compared nutrition standards and other best practices implemented recently in a large school district, in a large county government, and across 10 municipalities in Los Angeles County. We report lessons learned from these efforts.
We assessed whether a 2-phase labeling and choice architecture intervention would increase sales of healthy food and beverages in a large hospital cafeteria.
Phase 1 was a 3-month color-coded labeling intervention (red = unhealthy, yellow = less healthy, green = healthy). Phase 2 added a 3-month choice architecture intervention that increased the visibility and convenience of some green items. We compared relative changes in 3-month sales from baseline to phase 1 and from phase 1 to phase 2.
At baseline (977,793 items, including 199,513 beverages), 24.9% of sales were red and 42.2% were green. Sales of red items decreased in both phases (P < .001), and green items increased in phase 1 (P < .001). The largest changes occurred among beverages. Red beverages decreased 16.5% during phase 1 (P < .001) and further decreased 11.4% in phase 2 (P < .001). Green beverages increased 9.6% in phase 1 (P < .001) and further increased 4.0% in phase 2 (P < .001). Bottled water increased 25.8% during phase 2 (P < .001) but did not increase at 2 on-site comparison cafeterias (P < .001).
A color-coded labeling intervention improved sales of healthy items and was enhanced by a choice architecture intervention.
To develop healthier vending guidelines and assess their effect on the nutrient content and sales of snack products sold through hospital vending machines, and on staff satisfaction.
Nutrition guidelines for healthier vending machine products were developed and implemented in 14 snack vending machines at two hospital sites in Auckland, New Zealand. The guidelines comprised threshold criteria for energy, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium content of vended foods. Sales data were collected prior to introduction of the guidelines (March-May 2007), and again post-introduction (March-May 2008). A food composition database was used to assess impact of the intervention on nutrient content of purchases. A staff survey was also conducted pre- and post-intervention to assess acceptability.
Pre-intervention, 16% of staff used vending machines once a week or more, with little change post-intervention (15%). The guidelines resulted in a substantial reduction in the amount of energy (-24%), total fat (-32%), saturated fat (-41%), and total sugars (-30%) per 100 g product sold. Sales volumes were not affected, and the proportion of staff satisfied with vending machine products increased.
Implementation of nutrition guidelines in hospital vending machines led to substantial improvements in nutrient content of vending products sold. Wider implementation of these guidelines is recommended.
(1) To use the available research to estimate the amount of weight gained by college freshman during their first year of college. (2) To identify potential predictors of freshman weight gain.
A meta-analysis was conducted in November 2008. The analysis focused on articles published in English scientific journals between 1985 and 2008 available on the MEDLINE, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases and excluded studies of weight change over periods beyond freshman year.
Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Based on a pooled sample of 3,401 cases, mean weight gain was 3.86 (95% confidence intervals [CI] = 3.81-3.91) lbs. Potential contributors to gain were recent dieting, high baseline weight, and psychological stress.
The first year of college is a period of vulnerability for weight problems. Further research is needed to better understand freshman weight gain and devise appropriate prevention strategies based on predictors of gain.
Vending machines are a ubiquitous part of our food environments. Unfortunately, items found in vending machines tend to be processed foods and beverages high in salt, sugar, and/or fat. The purpose of this review is to describe intervention and case studies designed to promote healthier vending purchases by consumers and identify which manipulations are most effective. All studies analyzed were intervention or case studies that manipulated vending machines and analyzed sales or revenue data. This literature review is limited to studies conducted in the United States within the past 2 decades (ie, 1994 to 2015), regardless of study population or setting. Ten articles met these criteria based on a search conducted using PubMed. Study manipulations included price changes, increase in healthier items, changes to the advertisements wrapped around vending machines, and promotional signs such as a stoplight system to indicate healthfulness of items and to remind consumers to make healthy choices. Overall, seven studies had manipulations that resulted in statistically significant positive changes in purchasing behavior. Two studies used manipulations that did not influence consumer behavior, and one study was equivocal. Although there was no intervention pattern that ensured changes in purchasing, price reductions were most effective overall. Revenue from vending sales did not change substantially regardless of intervention, which will be important to foster initiation and sustainability of healthier vending. Future research should identify price changes that would balance healthier choices and revenue as well as better marketing to promote purchase of healthier items.
Internationally, vending machines are scrutinized for selling energy-dense nutrient-poor foods and beverages, and the contribution to overconsumption and subsequent risk of obesity. The aim of this review is to determine the efficacy of nutrition interventions in vending machine in eliciting behaviour change to improve diet quality or weight status of consumers. Electronic databases Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL, Science Direct and PubMed were searched from inception. Inclusion criteria: (i) populations that have access to vending machines; (ii) nutrition interventions; (iii) measured outcomes of behaviour change (e.g. sales data, dietary intake or weight change); and (iv) experimental trials where controls were not exposed to the intervention. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two researchers, and higher quality research formed the basis of this qualitative review. Twelve articles from 136 searched were included for synthesis. Intervention settings included schools, universities and workplaces. Reducing price or increasing the availability increased sales of healthier choices. The results of point-of-purchase nutrition information interventions were heterogeneous and when measured changes to purchases were small. This review offers evidence that pricing and availability strategies are effective at improving the nutritional quality foods and beverages purchased from vending machines. Evidence on how these interventions alter consumer's overall diet or body mass index is needed.
The nutritional quality of food and beverage products sold in vending machines has been implicated as a contributing factor to the development of an obesogenic food environment. How comprehensive, reliable, and valid are the current assessment tools for vending machines to support or refute these claims? A systematic review was conducted to summarize, compare, and evaluate the current methodologies and available tools for vending machine assessment. A total of 24 relevant research studies published between 1981 and 2013 met inclusion criteria for this review. The methodological variables reviewed in this study include assessment tool type, study location, machine accessibility, product availability, healthfulness criteria, portion size, price, product promotion, and quality of scientific practice. There were wide variations in the depth of the assessment methodologies and product healthfulness criteria utilized among the reviewed studies. Of the reviewed studies, 39% evaluated machine accessibility, 91% evaluated product availability, 96% established healthfulness criteria, 70% evaluated portion size, 48% evaluated price, 52% evaluated product promotion, and 22% evaluated the quality of scientific practice. Of all reviewed articles, 87% reached conclusions that provided insight into the healthfulness of vended products and/or vending environment. Product healthfulness criteria and complexity for snack and beverage products was also found to be variable between the reviewed studies. These findings make it difficult to compare results between studies. A universal, valid, and reliable vending machine assessment tool that is comprehensive yet user-friendly is recommended.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
In 2010, the United States (US) enacted a restaurant menu labeling law. The law also applied to vending machine companies selling food. Research suggested that providing nutrition information on menus in restaurants might reduce the number of calories purchased. We tested the effect of providing nutrition information and 'healthy' designations to consumers where vending machines were located in college residence halls. We conducted our study at one university in Southeast US (October-November 2012). We randomly assigned 18 vending machines locations (residence halls) to an intervention or control group. For the intervention we posted nutrition information, interpretive signage, and sent a promotional email to residents of the hall. For the control group we did nothing. We tracked sales over 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after we introduced the intervention. Our intervention did not change what the residents bought. We recommend additional research about providing nutrition information where vending machines are located, including testing formats used to present information.Journal of Public Health Policy advance online publication, 11 September 2014; doi:10.1057/jphp.2014.38.
Background:
The 2013-2014 school year involved preparation for implementing the new US Department of Agriculture (USDA) competitive foods nutrition standards. An awareness of associations between commercial supplier involvement, food vending practices, and food vending item availability may assist schools in preparing for the new standards.
Methods:
Analyses used 2007-2012 questionnaire data from administrators of 814 middle and 801 high schools in the nationally representative Youth, Education, and Society study to examine prevalence of profit from and commercial involvement with vending machine food sales, and associations between such measures and food availability.
Results:
Profits for the school district were associated with decreased low-nutrient, energy-dense (LNED) food availability and increased fruit/vegetable availability. Profits for the school and use of company suppliers were associated with increased LNED availability; company suppliers also were associated with decreased fruit/vegetable availability. Supplier "say" in vending food selection was associated with increased LNED availability and decreased fruit/vegetable availability.
Conclusions:
Results support (1) increased district involvement with school vending policies and practices, and (2) limited supplier "say" as to what items are made available in student-accessed vending machines. Schools and districts should pay close attention to which food items replace vending machine LNED foods following implementation of the new nutrition standards.
Objective:
To determine the effects of a nutrition information intervention on the vending machine purchases on a college campus.
Participants and methods:
Five high-use vending machines were selected for the intervention, which was conducted in the fall of 2011. Baseline sales data were collected in the 5 machines prior to the intervention. At the time of the intervention, color-coded stickers were placed near each item selection to identify less healthy (red), moderately healthy (yellow), and more healthy (green) snack items. Sales data were collected during the 2-week intervention.
Results:
Purchases of red- and yellow-stickered foods were reduced in most of the machines; moreover, sales of the green-stickered items increased in all of the machines.
Conclusions:
The increased purchases of healthier snack options demonstrate encouraging patterns that support more nutritious and healthy alternatives in vending machines.
To evaluate the purchases of university vending machine clientele and to understand what consumers purchase, purchase motivations, and purchase frequency after implementation of a vending policy designed to promote access to healthier snack options.
Cross-sectional data collection from consumers at 8 campus vending machines purposefully selected from a list of highest-grossing machines. Vending machines were stocked with 28.5% green (choose most often), 43% yellow (occasionally), and 28.5% red (least often) food items.
Consumers were predominately students (86%) and persons aged 18-24 years (71%). Red vending choices were overwhelmingly selected over healthier vending options (59%). Vended snack food selections were most influenced by hunger (42%) and convenience (41%). Most consumers (51%) frequented vending machines at least 1 time per week.
Despite decreased access to less healthful red snack food choices, consumers chose these snacks more frequently than healthier options in campus vending machines.
Freshman weight gain has been assessed using quantitative inquiry, but this qualitative study allowed for an in-depth exploration of freshmen women's experiences surrounding body image, nutrition, and exercise. The purpose of this study was to better understand the impact and explanations for the "Freshman 15."
Freshmen college women, aged 18 to 19 years.
Participants (N = 235) were initially surveyed about body dissatisfaction. Thirty participants were selected for semistructured interviews (conducted in March 2008) using a criterion-based, multilevel stratified random sampling.
Freshmen women reported intense fears about gaining weight. Women most commonly attributed freshman weight gain to newly found food independence, social comparison with peers, and the influence of friends and family. Women frequently cited eating habit changes to explain college weight gain.
Comparison among females was framed using Festinger's social comparison theory. Despite being cautious about food, females described freshman weight gain as inevitable.
A cooperative pilot program between the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Automated Merchandisers Association investigated the impact of nutrition information on the sale of regular and lower calorie vending items. Using a multiple time series design, nutrition information displays along with low-calorie items were sequentially introduced in several vending machine locations. The results indicate that the sale of lower-calorie items was influenced far more by their availability than the presence of attractive nutrition education materials.
Snack selections from unrefrigerated vending machines were studied in relation to increasing availability of nutrient-dense snack options and providing nutrient information at four selected vending sites on a large university campus. Only four of 133 different snacks available for unrefrigerated vending met the criterion for nutrient-dense snacks. When snack proportion was changed to increase availability of nutrient-dense snacks, sales dropped. When nutrition information in bar graph form was posted on the machines, sales increased but not back to the original level. Although snack sales increased after graphic nutrition information was posted, sales were primarily for the least nutrient-dense, perhaps because few well-liked, nutrient-dense snacks were available for unrefrigerated vending. Schools concerned about providing a selection of vended snacks in agreement with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines might be advised to maintain refrigerated vending or to pursue a "healthy snack" machine concept.
This study examined the role of price on purchases of low-fat snacks from vending machines.
Sales of low-fat and regular snacks were monitored in nine vending machines during a 4-week baseline, a 3-week intervention in which prices of low-fat snacks were reduced 50%, and 3 weeks postintervention.
The proportion of low-fat snacks purchased was 25.7%, 45.8%, and 22.8% in the three periods, respectively. Total snack purchases did not vary by period.
Reducing relative prices may be effective in promoting lower-fat food choices in the population. Vending machines may be a feasible method for implementing such nutrition interventions.
This study examined the effects of pricing and promotion strategies on purchases of low-fat snacks from vending machines.
Low-fat snacks were added to 55 vending machines in a convenience sample of 12 secondary schools and 12 worksites. Four pricing levels (equal price, 10% reduction, 25% reduction, 50% reduction) and 3 promotional conditions (none, low-fat label, low-fat label plus promotional sign) were crossed in a Latin square design. Sales of low-fat vending snacks were measured continuously for the 12-month intervention.
Price reductions of 10%, 25%, and 50% on low-fat snacks were associated with significant increases in low-fat snack sales; percentages of low-fat snack sales increased by 9%, 39%, and 93%, respectively. Promotional signage was independently but weakly associated with increases in low-fat snack sales. Average profits per machine were not affected by the vending interventions.
Reducing relative prices on low-fat snacks was effective in promoting lower-fat snack purchases from vending machines in both adult and adolescent populations.