Dataset Information

The Food Environments of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in East and Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT: Fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption benefits the health of populations. This can be especially the case in locations which have undergone significant changes in their food environments, such as East and Southeast Asian countries. This current systematic review is the first to study the food environments-facilitators, barriers, and moderators-associated with FV consumption in East and Southeast Asia. We consulted five electronic academic databases of English peer-reviewed papers published between 2010 and 2020 and found 31 studies. Results of these studies show that individuals strongly perceive FVs as being high-quality and safe, and having trust in their benefits. Food businesses with modernized systems have significantly fostered the consumption of FVs. A main barrier to FV consumption, however, is financial concerns, exacerbated by food businesses with FV unavailability and urbanization-induced FV price inflation and dietary patterns. Demographics and shopping patterns further hinder FV consumption. The fragmented and conditionalized findings of the 31 studies require standardized FV consumption measurements. Unlike the impact of FV consumption determinants and their interactions in Western countries, those in Asia, particularly countries other than China, have been substantially understudied. Therefore, as the research gaps in studies of food environments and FV consumption in East and Southeast Asia urgently demand scholarly attention, this paper proposes recommendations that favour the consumption of FVs.

SUBMITTER: Cheung JTH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7824134 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Food Environments of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in East and Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review.

Cheung Jason Tsz Him JTH Lok Johnson J Gietel-Basten Stuart S Koh Keumseok K

Nutrients 20210104 1

Fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption benefits the health of populations. This can be especially the case in locations which have undergone significant changes in their food environments, such as East and Southeast Asian countries. This current systematic review is the first to study the food environments-facilitators, barriers, and moderators-associated with FV consumption in East and Southeast Asia. We consulted five electronic academic databases of English peer-reviewed papers published betwee ...[more]

PMID: 33406719

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Project description:BackgroundTaenia saginata is an important zoonotic parasite, causing taeniosis in humans and cysticercosis in bovines, the latter being a significant concern for the global beef industry. Many countries in East, Southeast and South Asia are experiencing rapid economic growth, and an increasing number of people in these countries are dependent on the livestock industry. Currently, however, an overview of the prevalence of T. saginata in this region is lacking. In this review, we analysed the available literature on T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis for East, Southeast and South Asia.MethodsA systematic review was conducted, based on both published and grey literature. Articles published between 1990 and 2017 were mined for information on the occurrence, prevalence, and geographical distribution of T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in East, Southeast and South Asia.ResultsThe presence of T. saginata was described in 15 of 27 countries of the region, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The only country that reported an absence of T. saginata is Japan, although sporadic reports of imported cases and unconfirmed reports of autochthonous infections were identified. Nationwide surveys of taeniosis with systematic sample collection and high sample numbers were available for Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, and South Korea, although speciation of Taenia was not always performed. Regional prevalence of taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in endemic regions ranged between 0.02-42.6%, and 0.76-46.7%, respectively. However, data for bovine cysticercosis were only available for five countries (Japan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Pakistan and Vietnam).ConclusionsThe data indicate a widespread occurrence of T. saginata throughout East, Southeast and South Asia. Identification of Taenia spp. in human infections was frequently not performed, leading to gaps in knowledge about the distribution of human tapeworm infections, mainly in regions where different human Taenia species co-occur. A high prevalence of T. saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis may reflect insufficiencies in sanitation, limited health education standards, and insufficient food safety measures. Therefore, there is a need to improve local surveillance, notification, and overall control systems.

Project description:Outside of western countries, the study of the local food environment and evidence for its association with dietary behavior is limited. The aim of this paper was to examine the association between the local retail food environment and consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV) among adults in Hong Kong. Local retail food environment was measured by density of different types of retail food outlets (grocery stores, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants) within a 1000 m Euclidean buffer around individual's homes using a geographic information system (GIS). The Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) was calculated based on the relative density of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores to grocery stores. Logistic regressions were performed to examine associations using cross-sectional data of 1977 adults (18 years or older). Overall, people living in an area with the highest RFEI (Q4, >5.76) had significantly greater odds of infrequent FV consumption (<7 days/week) after covariates adjustment (infrequent fruit consumption: OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.04?1.78; infrequent vegetable consumption: OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.11?2.68) in comparison to the lowest RFEI (Q1, <2.25). Highest density of fast food restaurants (Q4, >53) was also significantly associated with greater odds of infrequent fruit consumption (<7 days/week) (unadjusted model: OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.04?1.73), relative to lowest density of fast food restaurants (Q1, <13). No significant association of density of grocery stores or convenience stores was observed with infrequent FV consumption regardless of the covariates included in the model. Our results suggest that the ratio of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores to grocery stores near people's home is an important environmental factor in meeting fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines. "Food swamps" (areas with an abundance of unhealthy foods) rather than "food deserts" (areas where there is limited access to healthy foods) seems to be more of a problem in Hong Kong's urban areas. We advanced international literature by providing evidence in a non-western setting.

Dataset Information

The Food Environments of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in East and Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review.

Publications

The Food Environments of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in East and Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review.

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