title: Healthy food procurement policies and their impact.
abstract: Unhealthy eating is the leading risk for death and disability globally. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for population health interventions. One of the proposed interventions is to ensure healthy foods are available by implementing healthy food procurement policies. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence base assessing the impact of such policies. A comprehensive review was conducted by searching PubMed and Medline for policies that had been implemented and evaluated the impact of food purchases, food consumption, and behaviors towards healthy foods. Thirty-four studies were identified and found to be effective at increasing the availability and purchases of healthy food and decreasing purchases of unhealthy food. Most policies also had other components such as education, price reductions, and health interventions. The multiple gaps in research identified by this review suggest that additional research and ongoing evaluation of food procurement programs is required. Implementation of healthy food procurement policies in schools, worksites, hospitals, care homes, correctional facilities, government institutions, and remote communities increase markers of healthy eating. Prior or simultaneous implementation of ancillary education about healthy eating, and rationale for the policy may be critical success factors and additional research is needed.
authors.affiliation: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. mniebylski@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Niebylski
authors.affiliation: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. tamlu@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. ncampbel@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Norm R C
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON M5S3E2, Canada. joanne.arcand@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arcand
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON M5S3E2, Canada. a.schermel@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schermel
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto Bayview Ave. E239, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada. Diane.Hua@sunnybrook.ca.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Queen's University, 2059 Etherington Hall, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada. yeatesk@queensu.ca.
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Yeates
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto Bayview Ave. E239, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada. sheldon.tobe@sunnybrook.ca.
authors.forename: Sheldon W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Tobe
authors.affiliation: Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth St., Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada. ptwohig@uhnresearch.ca.
authors.forename: Patrick A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Twohig
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON M5S3E2, Canada. mary.labbe@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Mary R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: L'Abbé
authors.affiliation: Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth St., Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada. peter.liu@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Peter P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D005523:Food Supply; D018673:Nutrition Policy