Reshaping Urban Retail Food Environments
in the East Asia and Pacific Region

UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office has partnered with the Global Obesity Centre at Deakin University, Australia to conduct a three-year project that aims to help children realize their right to adequate nutrition and increase access to healthier food in urban retail settings. The project 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.
Project collaborator:

Resources
Video: Why are retail food environments important?
Type: Video
Date of publication: July 2021
Video: Unhealthy Food Marketing to Children
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