literature review

Abdulrhmaan Baroun

Oklahoma state university

Annotated Bibliography

Research article summary

The research article by Ben R. Spoer, Jonathan H. Cantor, Pasquale E. Rummo, and Brian D. Elbel, presents a cross-sectional study which was conducted in New York City (NYC)to establish the relationship between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and proximity to the nearest SSB vendor. The article includes important background information and literature review in its introduction which stipulates that the consumption of SSBs has contributed to the increased risk of obesity among the population in NYC. Between 2013 and 2014, approximately one-third of adults in NYC were obese. The research is based on the argument that proximity has an impact on the rate of consumption of SSB. For example, closer proximity to less healthy restaurants makes it easier for people to access and consume unhealthy foods such as fast foods. The article acknowledges that limited research have been conducted to determine the relationship between the local food environment and the consumption of SSB among adults (Spoer, 2018). The total number of interviewed participants were 3,266 people who were of different ethnicities, gender, and age (above 18 years).

The results of the study showed there was no correlation between the proximity to an SSB vendor and the frequency of self-reported SSB consumption (Spoer, 2018). The results also showed that the distance to the nearest SSB vendor does not impact the frequency of SSB consumption. The discussion of the findings presented that the efficiency in transportation may have contributed to the results of the study because consumers did not need the SSB vendors to be located close to their homes. The conclusion of the research was that the food environment does not have an influence on SSB consumption. According to the authors, SSB taxes showed more promises in reducing the SSB consumption than food environment interventions.

Ben R. Spoer, Jonathan H. Cantor, Pasquale E. Rummo, & Brian D. Elbel, (2018). Food environment does not predict self-reported SSB consumption in New York City: A cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE 13(10): e0196689.Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196689

Ben R. Spoer, Jonathan H. Cantor, Pasquale E. Rummo, and Brian D. Elbel work together on a research study with the aim of proving that the food environment does not influence self-reported sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption. The study relates to the topic of food taxes by supporting that food taxes have gained more popularity and shown promise in relation to the ability to limit SSB consumption than food environment interventions. Food environment interventions include the presence of SSB vendors, type of SSB vendors, number of available SSB vendors, and the distance between the SSB vendors and the consumers’ residence. The research shows that SSB consumption cannot be controlled by impacting the food environment since there are very efficient transportation and accessibility services which makes it much easier for consumers to access SSB when needed. Furthermore, the efforts to try and limit the supply and accessibility of SSB in dense urban areas may not be practicable since this may have a negative impact on the economy and end up stirring negative responses from the public.

This article can be used to provide evidence-based discussion which proves that the food environment does not have an impact on the rate of SSB consumption in big cities such as the likes of NYC. Most of the information provided in the article relates to a research study which was conducted on 3,266 respondents who were interviewed just after having a meal in a number of restaurants and food stores in NYC. Even though the article’s main focus is not on food tax, it proves that in one way or another the use of food tax may have better results in reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods and in return mitigate the increasing number of people who are suffering from obesity. In the conclusion, the article proposes that policymakers and public health professionals may be forced to promote healthy foods purchases in stores and restaurants through other interventions such as the use of SSB taxes which targets on making SSB less affordable and Health Bodegas initiatives which aim at teaching the public on the importance of eating healthy foods (Spoer, 2018). This article can be used together with the article by Franck et al (2013) which can be used to prove some of the negative impacts of food tax on different populations

Caraher, M., & Cowburn, G. (May 10, 2005). Taxing food: implications for public health nutrition. Public Health Nutrition: 8(8), 1242-1249. DOI: 10.1079/PHN2005755

This article has been written by Caraher and Cowburn who both seek to analyze the food tax and its impact on its intended purpose. One part of the article argues in support of the food tax whereas the other argues against the food tax. Most of the information in this research paper is based on secondary sources such as the databases which offer information about different food taxes that have been imposed on the developed world. The researcher focus on data available on the internet which were published between 1995 and 2003 thereby providing a significant and rich background information. The findings of the research present different scenarios where food tax resulted in success as well as negative impacts. For example, the historical literature by the Caraher and Cowburn (2005), shows that the previous imposes of food tax had led to food protests and rising food prices in the English society and in Italy.

In their conclusion, Caraher and Cowburn convey that the adoption of food tax has had minimal impacts on curbing the consumption of unhealthy foods due to the numerous challenges it has undergone such as the lack of attention and support in the implementation. This article challenges the proposition by the research by Spoer, Cantor, Rummo, and Elbel which proposes that food tax is better positioned to dissuade the consumption of unhealthy foods. Nonetheless, this article can be used in presenting the importance of food tax in controlling the consumption of unhealthy foods amongst different populations. Besides this, it can be used to determine problematic areas in the adoption and implementation of food tax which may make the intervention ineffective in promoting healthy foods consumption. For example, the article proposes the adoption of a “mix of taxes and subsidies” as a pricing policy whereby healthy foods prices are subsidized whereas unhealthy foods are taxed.

Franck, C., Grandi, S. M., & Eisenberg, M. J. (2013). Taxing junk food to counter obesity. American journal of public health, 103(11), 1949-1953.

The article is titled “Taxing junk food to counter obesity” by Franck, Grandi, and Eisenberg who analyze the role of policymakers and health researcher in addressing the epidemic of obesity in North America. One of the important roles of the, as presented by the article, is the introduction of junk food taxes which according to Franck, Grandi, and Eisenberg (2013), have both positive and negative impact. The article can thus be used together with Caraher’s and Cowburn’s article on “taxing food: implications for public health nutrition” to present the benefits and setbacks of using food taxes to control and reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods. One of the benefits of junk food taxes is that it influences consumers to avoid the purchase of unhealthy foods since they are expensive. Besides this more manufacturers will be encouraged to produce healthier products. However, this argument is termed as unachievable in real life. One of the setbacks shared about the introduction of junk food taxes is that it is unethical since it has negative impacts on low-income earners who will be forced to spend much money on unhealthy foods. As such they would suffer more than the high-income earners.

Looking at the role of health researchers in addressing obesity, Franck et al. (2013), analyzes the Food and Agricultural Organization report by WHO which supports that the cost and pricing of healthy foods can contribute significantly to preventing obesity among the population. This is because the inexpensive nature the unhealthy foods compared to the high prices of fresh produce continue to influence people’s preference for junk food over healthy foods. Even though there are limited data and information in regards to the pilot pricing interventions mentioned in the article, there is adequate evidence which either supports or discourages the introduction of a tax on unhealthy foods as an alternative to competing obesity. This article can be used in illustrating the different impacts of unhealthy food tax on the population as well as supporting investigations on its effectiveness in reducing obesity among different populations.

Pomeranz, J., Wilde, P., Huang, Y., Micha, R., & Mozaffarian, D. (February 2018). Legal and Administrative Feasibility of a Federal Junk Food and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax to Improve Diet. AJPH Law & Ethics, Vol. 108, No. 2.

This article “Legal and Administrative Feasibility of a Federal Junk Food and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax to Improve Diet” by Pomeranz, Wilde, Huang, Micha, and Mozaffarian (2018) seems to be a combination of the article by Spoer et al. (2018) which focuses on the sugar-sweetened beverages and the article by Franck et al. (2013) which focuses on junk food tax. In this article, the authors investigate the practicality of the federal involvement in improving diet through interventions such as imposing junk food tax and SSB tax. Similar to the Food and Agricultural Organization report by WHO, the researchers propose that the introduction of incentives on healthy foods and drinks can substantially improve the feeding habits of most people thereby reducing the incidence of lifestyle diseases. Information presented by this article can be used to argue on the need to implement junk and SSB tax.

One of the important parts of the article is the introduction and the literature review which clarifies on critical elements concerning the topic of the food tax. First, the article gives a satisfactory definition of junk food which differentiates it from fast foods. Second, the article differentiates SSB tax from beverage product taxes so as to prevent mix up during research and analysis of findings. Generally, the article can be adequately used in the classification of taxes on food products which should be specifically junk foods or SSB. Similar to the argument by Spoer et al. (2018), Pomeranz et al. argue that there has been an increased popularity and political acceptance of local taxes on sweetened products as one of the administrative efforts put in place by legal and administrative bodies in discouraging poor dieting. To prove this the article provides justification from historical data which identifies different methods for federal junk tax. This research mainly focuses the policies which have been put in place in regards to taxation of the respective product (s). Besides this, various peer-reviewed journals have been used following the same criteria focusing on both the policies made by the United States and international policies. This article can be used to evaluate the role of the legal and administrative bodies in promoting a healthy diet.