ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2023
Changes in Online Food Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations With Deprivation: Longitudinal Analysis.
Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Offline to online: a systematic mapping review of evidence to inform nutrition-related policies applicable to online food delivery platforms.BMC medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Territorial inequalities in the food environment of Brazilian metropolitan regions.Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- The UK Food Environment: A Systematic Review of Domains, Methodologies, and Outcomes.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Review
- Consumers acceptability of using screen capture methods to capture marketing strategies on online food delivery platforms: a qualitative study.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Health impacts of takeaway management zones around schools in six different local authorities across England: a public health modelling study using PRIMEtime.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- Public acceptability of proposals to manage new takeaway food outlets near schools: cross-sectional analysis of the 2021 International Food Policy Study.Cities & health · 2024Article
- Consumer knowledge of and engagement with traditional takeaway and dark kitchen food outlets.NIHR open research · 2024Article
- Pertinence of Salt-Related Knowledge and Reported Behaviour on Salt Intake in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2023Article
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3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFood prepared out of home is typically energy-dense and nutrient-poor. Online food delivery services have become a popular way to purchase such food. The number of accessible food outlets through these services can influence how frequently they are used. Anecdotally, food outlet access through online food delivery services increased in England between 2020 and 2022, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the extent to which this access changed is poorly understood.
objectiveWe aimed to investigate monthly changes in online access to food prepared out of home in England in the context of the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with November 2019 and the extent to which any changes were associated with deprivation.
methodsIn November 2019 and monthly between June 2020 and March 2022, we used automated data collection to construct a data set containing information about all food outlets in England registered to accept orders through the leading online food delivery service. Across postcode districts, we identified the number and percentage of food outlets registered to accept orders and the number that was accessible. We used generalized estimating equations (adjusted for population density, the number of food outlets in the physical food environment, and rural/urban classification) to investigate the change in outcomes compared with prepandemic levels (November 2019). We stratified analyses by deprivation quintile (Q).
resultsAcross England, the summed number of food outlets registered to accept orders online increased from 29,232 in November 2019 to 49,752 in March 2022. Across postcode districts, the median percentage of food outlets registered to accept orders online increased from 14.3 (IQR 3.8-26.0) in November 2019 to 24.0 (IQR 6.2-43.5) in March 2022. The median number of food outlets accessible online decreased from 63.5 (IQR 16.0-156.0) in November 2019 to 57.0 (IQR 11.0-163.0) in March 2022. However, we observed variation by deprivation. In March 2022, the median number of outlets accessible online was 175.0 (IQR 104.0-292.0) in the most deprived areas (Q5) compared with 27.0 (IQR 8.5-60.5) in the least deprived (Q1). In adjusted analyses, we estimated that the number of outlets accessible online in the most deprived areas was 10% higher in March 2022 compared with November 2019 (incidence rate ratios: 1.10, 95% CI 1.07-1.13). In the least deprived areas, we estimated a 19% decrease (incidence rate ratios: 0.81, 95% CI 0.79-0.83).
conclusionsThe number of food outlets accessible online increased only in the most deprived areas in England. Future research might attempt to understand the extent to which changes in online food access were associated with changes in online food delivery service use and the possible implications on diet quality and health.
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