Researchers from the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) at Deakin University, in collaboration with UNICEF, have published the first study to examine global trends in retail food environments, with data spanning a 15 year period from 2009 to 2023 across 97 countries. By comparing data across regions, countries, and country income groups, the study offers valuable insights for governments, retailers, and the public health community on how the retail food sector has changed over time and how these changes are influencing diets and obesity at a national, regional and global scale.
Our interactive dashboard will allow you to visualise these trends and compare countries, regions and country income groups.
Key findings
The study highlights significant shifts in global retail food environments from 2009 to 2023, including:
- A 13.7% increase in the number of chain food retail outlets (per person)
- A 13.7% decrease in the number of non-chain food retail outlets (per person)
- A 17.2% increase in the percentage of grocery sales from chain retailers
- A 4.9% increase in unhealthy food sales per capita
- A 10.9% increase in the percentage of unhealthy food sales from chain retailers
For more information
Read the journal article for details on the methods, full results and the researchers’ interpretation of the findings.
Read our news story on the study to gain a greater understanding of this work and its impact.
Read Dr Tailane Scapin and Prof Adrian Cameron’s article in The Conversation about the public health impact.
And find out more about the collaborative initiative between Deakin and UNICEF that inspired this study and how it aims to create healthier food retail environments in East Asia and Pacific.
