Investigating foods and beverages sold and advertised in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Ghana and Kenya: a cross-sectional study


Green, Mark Alan ORCID: 0000-0002-0942-6628, Pradeilles, Rebecca, Laar, Amos, Osei-Kwasi, Hibbah, Bricas, Nicolas, Coleman, Nathaniel, Klomegah, Senam, Wanjohi, Milka Njeri, Tandoh, Akua, Akparibo, Robert et al (show 7 more authors) (2020) Investigating foods and beverages sold and advertised in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Ghana and Kenya: a cross-sectional study BMJ OPEN, 10 (6). e035680-. ISSN 2044-6055, 2044-6055

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Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to characterise the local foods and beverages sold and advertised in three deprived urban African neighbourhoods. Design Cross-sectional observational study. We undertook an audit of all food outlets (outlet type and food sold) and food advertisements. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise exposures. Latent class analysis was used to explore the interactions between food advertisements, food outlet types and food type availability. Setting Three deprived neighbourhoods in African cities: Jamestown in Accra, Ho Dome in Ho (both Ghana) and Makadara in Nairobi (Kenya). Main outcome measure Types of foods and beverages sold and/or advertised. Results Jamestown (80.5%) and Makadara (70.9%) were dominated by informal vendors. There was a wide diversity of foods, with high availability of healthy (eg, staples, vegetables) and unhealthy foods (eg, processed/fried foods, sugar-sweetened beverages). Almost half of all advertisements were for sugar-sweetened beverages (48.3%), with higher exposure to alcohol adverts compared with other items as well (28.5%). We identified five latent classes which demonstrated the clustering of healthier foods in informal outlets, and unhealthy foods in formal outlets. Conclusion Our study presents one of the most detailed geospatial exploration of the urban food environment in Africa. The high exposure of sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol both available and advertised represent changing urban food environments. The concentration of unhealthy foods and beverages in formal outlets and advertisements of unhealthy products may offer important policy opportunities for regulation and action.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Cross-Sectional Studies, Poverty Areas, Advertising, Beverages, Food, Urban Population, Kenya, Ghana, Latent Class Analysis
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 02 Apr 2020 10:59
Last Modified: 23 May 2026 02:29
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035680
Open Access URL: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/6/e035680
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3081559
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