Nutritional quality of beverages available in vending machines in health and social care institutions: do we really want such offers?

Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition

Nataša Fidler Mis¹  Sonja Šostar Turk²  Urška Rozman²  Primož Kocbek²  Maja Strauss²  Urška Pivk Kupirovič³  Igor Pravst³ 

[1] Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University Children’s Hospital, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Bohoričeva 20, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia;Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Maribor, Žitna ulica 15, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia;Nutrition Institute, Tržaška cesta 40, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia;

关键词: Beverages;    Vending machines;    Social care institutions;    Health care institutions;    Slovenia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41043-021-00250-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundVending machines represent one way of offering food, but they are overlooked in the efforts to improve people’s eating habits. The aim of our study was to analyse the variety and nutritional values of beverages offered in vending machines in social and health care institution in Slovenia.MethodsThe available beverages were quantitatively assessed using traffic light profiling and the model for nutrient profiling used by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Vending machines in 188 institutions were surveyed, resulting in 3046 different beverages consisting of 162 unique product labels.ResultsBetween 51 and 54% of beverages were categorised as unhealthy with regard to sugar content. Water accounted for only 13.7% of all beverages in vending machines. About 82% of beverages in vending machines were devoted to sugar-sweetened beverages, the majority (58.9%) presented in 500-ml bottles. The average sugar content and average calories in beverages sold in vending machines are slightly lower than in beverages sold in food stores.ConclusionsWe suggest that regulatory guidelines should be included in the tender conditions for vending machines in health and social care institutions, to ensure healthy food and beverage choices.

【 授权许可】

CC BY