Nutrition and Dietetics Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, the Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Level 4 East, Building D17, John Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2018 Nov 14;18(1):1255. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6177-z.
Snacking is a prevalent dietary behaviour among young adults, which could independently contribute to weight gain. Vending machines provide easy access to unhealthy snacks and beverages for young adults in universities. A voluntary front-of-pack labelling, named the Health Star Rating (HSR) system, has been implemented nationally by the Australian government as one strategy to address obesity since 2014. The primary aim of this study was to detect changes in the availability, pricing and advertising of healthy and unhealthy snacks and beverages in university vending machines after introduction of the HSR.
The study design was two cross-sectional audits of university vending machines one before (in 2014) and another after (in 2017) the implementation of the HSR. Data collections were conducted in a large urban university (> 60,000 students). Every machine was assessed; the product's name, price, portion sizes and advertisements were recorded. Products were assigned an HSR to classify as healthy (≥3.5 stars) or unhealthy (< 3.5 stars). To compare the differences of product availability between 2014 and 2017, the Chi-square test was used.
A total of 1836 and 2458 slots were audited in 2014 and 2017, respectively. The proportion of healthy snacks and beverages increased from 7 to 14% (p < 0.001) and 38 to 44% (p < 0.05) since 2014, respectively. The mean costs of unhealthy snacks and healthy beverages increased after three years. Healthy food and drink options were more expensive than unhealthy choices in 2017. Advertisements on vending machines for unhealthy foods and drinks remained prevalent.
Only small changes have been observed in the availability of healthy snacks and beverages in vending machines since implementation of the HSR system. Policy directives are indicated to encourage further improvements.
吃零食是年轻人中一种普遍的饮食习惯，它可能会独立导致体重增加。自动售货机为大学生提供了方便获取不健康零食和饮料的途径。自 2014 年以来，澳大利亚政府实施了一项名为健康星级评级（HSR）系统的自愿性包装正面标签计划，作为解决肥胖问题的策略之一。本研究的主要目的是在 HSR 实施后，检测大学自动售货机中健康和不健康零食和饮料的供应、价格和广告的变化。
研究设计是在 HSR 实施前后（分别在 2014 年和 2017 年）对大学自动售货机进行两次横断面审计。数据收集在一个大型城市大学（超过 60,000 名学生）进行。对每台机器进行评估；记录产品名称、价格、份量和广告。根据 HSR 将产品分为健康（≥3.5 星）或不健康（<3.5 星）。为了比较 2014 年和 2017 年产品供应的差异，使用了卡方检验。
2014 年和 2017 年分别审核了 1836 个和 2458 个插槽。自 2014 年以来，健康零食和饮料的比例分别从 7%增加到 14%（p<0.001）和 38%增加到 44%（p<0.05）。三年后，不健康零食和健康饮料的平均成本增加。2017 年，健康食品和饮料的选择比不健康的选择更昂贵。自动售货机上不健康食品和饮料的广告仍然很普遍。
自 HSR 系统实施以来，自动售货机中健康零食和饮料的供应仅发生了微小变化。需要政策指令来鼓励进一步改进。
