Abstract
SummaryIntroductionReady‐to‐eat meals sold by food outlets that are accessible to the general public are an important target for public health intervention. We conducted a systematic review to assess the impact of such interventions.MethodsStudies of any design and duration that included any consumer‐level or food‐outlet‐level before‐and‐after data were included.ResultsThirty studies describing 34 interventions were categorized by type and coded against the Nuffield intervention ladder: restrict choice = trans fat law (n = 1), changing pre‐packed children's meal content (n = 1) and food outlet award schemes (n = 2); guide choice = price increases for unhealthier choices (n = 1), incentive (contingent reward) (n = 1) and price decreases for healthier choices (n = 2); enable choice = signposting (highlighting healthier/unhealthier options) (n = 10) and telemarketing (offering support for the provision of healthier options to businesses via telephone) (n = 2); and provide information = calorie labelling law (n = 12), voluntary nutrient labelling (n = 1) and personalized receipts (n = 1). Most interventions were aimed at adults in US fast food chains and assessed customer‐level outcomes. More ‘intrusive’ interventions that restricted or guided choice generally showed a positive impact on food‐outlet‐level and customer‐level outcomes. However, interventions that simply provided information or enabled choice had a negligible impact.ConclusionInterventions to promote healthier ready‐to‐eat meals sold by food outlets should restrict choice or guide choice through incentives/disincentives. Public health policies and practice that simply involve providing information are unlikely to be effective.
Highlights
Ready-to-eat meals sold by specific food outlets that sell ready-to-eat meals as their main business are often more energy dense and nutrient poor compared with meals prepared and eaten at home (1)
Eating takeaway or fast food is associated with excess weight gain and obesity (3,4)
There is some evidence that food outlets selling takeaway meals and fast foods are clustered in areas of socioeconomic deprivation (8)
Summary
Ready-to-eat meals (to eat in, to take away or to be delivered) sold by specific food outlets that sell ready-to-eat meals as their main business are often more energy dense and nutrient poor compared with meals prepared and eaten at home (1). The consumption of these readyto-eat meals is associated with higher energy and fat and lower micronutrient intake (2). Eating takeaway or fast food is associated with excess weight gain and obesity (3,4). The popularity and availability of ready-to-eat meals have risen considerably over the last few decades in many high-income and middle-income countries (5–7). Around one-fifth to one-quarter of the UK population eat takeaway meals at home at least once per week (7). There is some evidence that food outlets selling takeaway meals and fast foods are clustered in areas of socioeconomic deprivation (8). Ready-to-eat meals sold by food outlets, in deprived areas, are an important target for public health intervention (9)
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