Application of nutrient profile models to compare products offered in ‘healthy’ vs ‘conventional’ vending machines in a Spanish hospital environment

Abstract

IntroductionVending machines promote easy access to food with low nutritional value. ‘Healthy’ vending machines (HVM) have been introduced as a means to improve the availability and accessibility of healthy food options, and the healthiness of the foods, however, has not been evaluated. ObjectiveOur aim was to assess the healthiness of the products offered in HVM and ‘conventional’ vending machines (CVM), located in the Catalan Institute of Oncology. Study design and methodsAll products available in vending machines (HVM (n = 33) and CVM (n = 62) were evaluate during three nutrient profile models (NPMs): the World Health Organization's European Regional Office model (WHO), Nutrient Profile Model UK (NPM-UK), and Australian Health Star Rating system (HSR). ResultsRegardless of the NPM used, significant differences found in the proportion of healthy products among HVM and CVM (WHO: P-value = 0.005, NPM-UK: P value < 0.001, HSR: P-value < 0.001). The healthy products offered in HVM accounted for 30%, 73%, and 52% of the total content, while CVM offered 6%, 32%, and 15% of the content, as assessed by WHO, NPM-UK, and HSR, respectively. The WHO model was the most restrictive model, and the NPM-UK was the most permissible one. ConclusionsAlthough not all products in HVM are rated as healthy by the different NPMs, the percentage of healthy products was significantly higher than those in CVM.