Reshaping Urban Retail Food Environments
in the East Asia and Pacific Region
UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office has partnered with the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) at Deakin University, Australia to conduct a three-year project (RESHAPE) that aims to help children realize their right to adequate nutrition and increase access to healthier food in urban retail settings. RESHAPE is an initiative supported by the Pictet Group Foundation since 2021.
RESHAPE focuses on Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Chengdu City (China), and involves the following activities
- A series of research projects will map the multiple aspects of the retail food environment in each of the four focus countries. This will include an analysis of retail trends using business databases, a literature review, in-store assessments and a study of 4000 adolescents and 4000 parents of younger children.
- Foster a network of multiple partners with a common interest in improving food retail environments in this region and beyond.
- Advocate for evidence-based policies by translating the findings of the action-oriented research into clear policy messages directed at national governments and/or local authorities.
- Work with selected food retailers to test innovative interventions designed to encourage healthier retail environments.
Resources
Video: How can food environments be healthier?
This animated video shows initiatives to promote healthy foods in a child-friendly retail food environment.
Type: Video
Date of publication: February 2023
Video: Food stores have changed, see how
This animated video presents how food stores have changed in East Asia and Pacific in the past 15 years.
Type: Video
Date of publication: February 2023
Report: Exploring adolescents’ food-related behaviours
This summary report presents findings of a survey with 3,016 adolescents aged 13-19 years old across three countries in Asia that explored how adolescents interact with retail food environments in their daily routines.
Type: Report
Date of publication: February 2023
Report: Exploring caregivers’ food-related behaviours
This summary report presents findings of a survey with 3,514 caregivers of young children aged 12 years or older across four countries that explored how caregivers and their children interact with retail food environments in their daily routines.
Type: Report
Date of publication: February 2023
Brochure: Promoting healthy choices while ensuring business sustainability
This brochure presents a rapid evidence review of effective food retailer actions to support healthier food environments and share some examples from early adopters who are already doing this.
Type: Brochure
Date of publication: February 2023
Reports: Mapping changes in the retail food sector across four countries in East Asia
These reports aimed to provide an overview of the food retail sector in China, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand and identify key food retail trends across these countries.
Type: Reports
Date of publication: February 2023
Video: Why are retail food environments important?
This animated video presents why is important to reshape the retail food environments in the EAP region for people health.
Type: Video
Date of publication: July 2021
Video: Unhealthy Food Marketing to Children
This animated video shows how unhealthy foods are widely promoted through retail food environments and how they can impact the healthiness of food purchases.
Type: Video
Date of publication: November 2021
Research Paper: A Proposed Research Agenda for Promoting Healthy Retail Food Environments in the East Asia-Pacific Region
This paper aimed to summarise existing literature on strategies to improve the healthiness of retail food environments in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, and propose a prioritised research agenda on this topic.
Type: Peer-reviewed paper
Citation: Cameron, Adrian J., et al. “A Proposed Research Agenda for Promoting Healthy Retail Food Environments in the East Asia–Pacific Region.” Current Nutrition Reports (2021): 1-15.
Date of publication: October 2021
© UNICEF-Indonesia-2021-Wilander
Infographic: Healthier stores, healthier children
An infographic summary of retail food environments in East Asia and the Pacific.
Type: Infographic
Date of publication: July 2021
Blog Post: Dump the junk: Reshaping the food retail environment to promote and sell healthier food and drink
Roland Kupka, Nutrition Regional Advisor, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office
Karla Corrêa, Children’s Rights and Business Specialist, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office
Adrian Cameron, Associate Professor, Deakin University
Type: Blog Post
Date of publication: July 2021
© UNICEF-Philippines-2021-Reyna
Report: Developing a Research Agenda to Support Improvement in the Healthiness of Retail Food Environments in the East Asia-Pacific Region
This brief report aimed to support UNICEF in the development of a research agenda for generating improvements in the healthiness of urban retail food environments in the EAP region.
Type: Report
Date of publication: October 2020
© UNICEF-Indonesia-2021-Wilander
Project collaborators:
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