Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35854353›Full record

ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2022

Is altering the availability of healthier vs. less-healthy options effective across socioeconomic groups? A mega-analysis.

Rachel Pechey, Gareth J Hollands, James P Reynolds, Susan A Jebb, Theresa M Marteau

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Preventing type 2 diabetes: A research agenda for behavioural science.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2023
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Rachel PecheyNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK. rachel.pechey@phc.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-6558-388X
Gareth J HollandsDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SR, UK.
James P ReynoldsSchool of Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK.
Susan A JebbNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK.
Theresa M MarteauDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SR, UK.

Funding

Wellcome Trust 206853/Z/17/ZWellcome Trust 222566/Z/21/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAvailability interventions have been hypothesised to make limited demands on conscious processes and, as a result, to be less likely to generate health inequalities than cognitively-oriented interventions. Here we synthesise existing evidence to examine whether the impact of altering the availability of healthier vs. less-healthy options differs by socioeconomic position.

methodsIndividual-level data (21,360 observations from 7,375 participants) from six studies (conducted online (n = 4) and in laboratories (n = 2)) were pooled for mega-analysis. Multilevel logistic regressions analysed the impact of altering the availability of healthier options on selection of a healthier (rather than a less-healthy) option by socioeconomic position, assessed by (a) education and (b) income.

resultsParticipants had over threefold higher odds of selecting a healthier option when the available range was predominantly healthier compared to selections when the range offered was predominantly less-healthy (odds ratio (OR): 3.8; 95%CIs: 3.5, 4.1). Less educated participants were less likely to select healthier options in each availability condition (ORs: 0.75-0.85; all p < 0.005), but there was no evidence of differences in healthier option selection by income. Compared to selections when the range offered was predominantly less-healthy, when predominantly healthier options were available there was a 31% increase in selecting healthier options for the most educated group vs 27% for the least educated. This modest degree of increased responsiveness in the most educated group appeared only to occur when healthier options were predominant. There was no evidence of any differential response to the intervention by income.

conclusionIncreasing the proportion of healthier options available increases the selection of healthier options across socioeconomic positions. Availability interventions may have a slightly larger beneficial effect on those with the highest levels of education in settings when healthier options predominate.

Indexed as

Health StatusHumansSocioeconomic FactorsAvailabilityFoodHealth inequalitiesIntervention-generated inequalitiesSocioeconomic position

Identifiers

PMID35854353
PMCPMC9297538

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.