Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39358707›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2024

A cross-sectional study of the relative availability and prominence of shelf space allocated to healthy and unhealthy foods in supermarkets in urban Ireland, by area-level deprivation.

S O'Mahony, N Collins, G Doyle, A McCann, K Burke, A Moore, E R Gibney

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Neighborhood Vulnerability and the Consumer Food Environment in an Urban Area.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

S O'MahonyFood Safety Authority of Ireland, The Exchange, Georges Dock, Dublin 1, Ireland. somahony@fsai.ie.
N CollinsFood Safety Authority of Ireland, The Exchange, Georges Dock, Dublin 1, Ireland.
G DoyleCollege of Business, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
A McCannFood Safety Authority of Ireland, The Exchange, Georges Dock, Dublin 1, Ireland.
K BurkeDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Co. Limerick, Ireland.
A MooreSchool of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
E R GibneyInstitute of Food and Health, School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin (UCD), Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDiet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of ill-health and death across Europe. In Ireland, dietary intakes of saturated fat, free sugar and salt exceed World Health Organization recommendations, and excess consumption follows a social gradient increasing population risk of diet-related NCDs. The retail food environment can influence consumer food choice and subsequent dietary intakes. In high income countries, supermarkets are an increasingly influential actor in consumer food availability, choice, purchase, and subsequent food intake. This study aims to assess the relative availability and prominence of healthy and unhealthy foods in Irish supermarkets, by area-level deprivation.

methodsThis study used a cross-sectional study design, and applied a validated measure, as described in the INFORMAS Protocol: Food Retail - Food availability in supermarkets. Between October 2021 and February 2022, shelf space (m

resultsThe study found the proportion of shelf space measured allocated to unhealthy food was 68.0% (SD 10.6). Unhealthy foods were more likely to be in areas of high prominence. Overall, there was no statistically significant difference between the proportion of relative shelf space available to unhealthy foods in areas of high and low deprivation. A statistically significant difference in the proportion of relative shelf space allocated to healthy and unhealthy food by area level deprivation was found in one retailer.

conclusionUnhealthy foods had a higher proportion of shelf space and were more prominent than healthy foods in supermarkets in County Dublin, Ireland. The current availability and prominence of foods in supermarkets does not align with Food Based Dietary Guideline recommendations and does not support consumers to make healthier food choices. There is a need for supermarkets in Ireland to improve the availability and prominence of healthy foods to support consumers to make healthier food choices.

Indexed as

Food MarketsFood SupplyCross-Sectional StudiesDiet, HealthyHumansIrelandUrban PopulationArea-level deprivationRetail food environmentSupermarketUnhealthy food availabilityUnhealthy food visibility

Identifiers

PMID39358707
PMCPMC11445997

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.