South East Asia Obesogenic Food Environment
(SEAOFE) Study

This collaborative research study funded through International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada brings together researchers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia to understand the role of food retail in contributing to and addressing the obesogenic and food environment in low-income urban settings in the Southeast Asia.

The study consists of four phases. Phase one aims to describe the characteristics of current food retail environments in each country, using a literature and data review. Phase two aims to understand the consumer experience of their food retail environment in selected urban poor communities, using a consumer intercept survey. This phase will also assess the consumer retail environment by adapting an audit tool. Phase three aims to understand the factors influencing the food retailers’ decisions using semi-structured interviews with the selected retailers and quantitative data analysis on business characteristics of the retailer. Phase four aims to identify key opportunities for policy to encourage change within food retail environments using document review and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders