B6 Markets, food environments, and healthy nutrition

In some settings, limited access to markets and poor local availability of affordable and nutritious food forms an important barrier to healthy nutrition. On the other hand, food environments are rapidly changing all across the world, offering a wide variety of foods (including packaged, prepared, and away-from-home foods) which may affect diets in both positive and negative ways. SP B6 studies how different forms of malnutrition (calorie and nutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity) are linked to the functioning of markets and food environments. Understanding the conditions for positive and negative outcomes to arise, will help in identifying where and how policies can help to shape nutritious diets. We will use primary and secondary data to analyze how food environments interact with individual factors, such as income levels, time pressure, social norms and preferences to affect nutritional outcomes.

Possible dissertation topics:

Local vs modern food traders and their role in providing access to nutritious and sustainable diets
Demand for safe and nutritious food: the role of information and aspirations
Affordable healthy diets under time constraints: the ‘time cost’ of a healthy diet

Liesbeth Colen

Edwin Kenamu

Ruchira Boss