The role of the perceived food environment on the eating behavior of people with lower socioeconomic positions in municipal settings

Food environments are an important determinant of diet and play a crucial role in the development of obesity and overweight. People with lower socioeconomic position (LSEP) often have an unhealthier diet. Perceived characteristics of the food environment have a critical and distinct role in influencing diet, since they take people's experiences and reality into account. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the role of the perceived food environment on the eating behavior of people with LSEP in two municipalities in Belgium, and to identify potential actions which can be taken by these municipalities to promote a healthy diet. 23 people with LSEP were recruited through purposeful convenience sampling until data saturation was achieved. The photovoice and photo-elicitation method were used to capture respondents’ perception of their food environment and to identify potential actions, both individually (n = 16) and in group (n = 7), that play a role in a diet. All data was transcribed and analyzed thematically using NVIVO 20.0. Multiple local actions to improve a healthy diet were identified during the interviews and focus groups. Respondents identified affordable and accessible cooking classes, opening a social restaurant/store and including affordable healthy recipes in the municipal newspaper as potential actions. Actions such as making at-home delivery of healthy groceries financially accessible to everyone and to distribute vouchers instead of food parcels at food banks also came forward. Furthermore, respondents cited a lack of information about where healthy food was available as a barrier and identified a central overview of affordable and healthy food and communal field visits to local food producers such as farmers as potential actions. These results show that people with LSEP identified a wide variety of actions related to the food environment that local governments and related stakeholders can take to promote healthy eating. SPEAKERS/PANELISTS: Ingrid Stegeman EuroHealthNet, Brussels, Belgium