Impact of Policy Change on Nutrient Quality of Vending Purchases

Introduction

To reduce the availability of energy dense and nutrient poor snack food vending options, a large Midwestern University changed its vending policy from contract-specified item ratios (28.5 % green -best choice; 43% yellow -choose occasionally; and 28.5% red -choose rarely) using the Snackwise® nutrient rating system to AVI System’s Nutrisnack® guidelines (set calorie and nutrient criteria). The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in nutrient quality before and after implementation of a new vending policy.

Methods

The design for this study was a cross-sectional survey of vending consumers at six pre-selected high volume campus vending machines. Vending consumers (N = 536) were observed and interviewed by 24 trained undergraduate and graduate students for eight hours a day for five days over a period of two weeks. Nutrients evaluated included calories, fat, protein, sugar, calcium, and dietary fiber.  

 Results

Average number of calories consumed per snack decreased from 219.9 kcal before to 153.5 kcal after the policy change.  Average nutrient quality was significantly different after the policy change; average fat (p<0.0005) and sugar (p<0.0005) content decreased significantly; dietary fiber increased significantly (p<0.0005).  No statistically significant changes were found for protein and calcium.  

 Conclusions

The new vending policy appeared to improve the nutrient quality of snack foods consumed by patrons. Vending machine policy can be used as a mechanism to reduce the availability of less healthy, energy-dense snack options and make healthier, nutrient-dense snack options more available to the public.