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Socioeconomic inequalities in food outlet access through an online food delivery service in England: A cross-sectional descriptive analysis.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Bishop, Tom RP 

Abstract

Online food delivery services facilitate 'online' access to food outlets selling food prepared away-from-home. Online food outlet access has not previously been investigated in England or across an entire country. Systematic differences in online food outlet access could exacerbate existing health inequalities, which is a public health concern. However, this is not known. Across postcode districts in England (n = 2118), we identified and described the number of food outlets and unique cuisine types accessible online from the market leader (Just Eat). We investigated associations with area-level deprivation using adjusted negative binomial regression models. We also compared the number of food outlets accessible online with the number physically accessible in the neighbourhood (1600m Euclidean buffers of postcode district geographic centroids) and investigated associations with deprivation using an adjusted general linear model. For each outcome, we predicted means and 95% confidence intervals. In November 2019, 29,232 food outlets were registered to accept orders online. Overall, the median number of food outlets accessible online per postcode district was 63.5 (IQR; 16.0-156.0). For the number of food outlets accessible online as a percentage of the number accessible within the neighbourhood, the median was 63.4% (IQR; 35.6-96.5). Analysis using negative binomial regression showed that online food outlet access was highest in the most deprived postcode districts (n = 106.1; 95% CI: 91.9, 120.3). The number of food outlets accessible online as a percentage of those accessible within the neighbourhood was highest in the least deprived postcode districts (n = 86.2%; 95% CI: 78.6, 93.7). In England, online food outlet access is socioeconomically patterned. Further research is required to understand how online food outlet access is related to using online food delivery services.

Description

Keywords

Fast foods, Food environment, Food outlet access, GIS, Online food delivery services, Public health

Journal Title

Appl Geogr

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0143-6228
1873-7730

Volume Title

133

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (MR/K023187/1)
Department of Health (via National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)) (PD-SPH-2015-10029 BH154142)
MRC (MC_UU_00006/7)
Wellcome Trust (087636/Z/08/Z)
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/G007462/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/6)
Department of Health (via National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)) (unknown)