Shelf Space Devoted to Nutritious Foods Correlates with BMI

Obesity continues to be a threat to global health. The goal of this study was to examine the correlation between shelf space devoted to various categories of food and BMI in a variety of nations. A total of 121 supermarkets in 10 different countries were evaluated by taking linear measurements of shelf space devoted to 8 categories of foods, and assessing whether there was any relationship to mean population BMI. Trends were detected for the following food categories: 1. higher percent shelf space devoted to fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, canned vegetables, and canned fruit were all associated with a lower national BMI; 2. higher percent shelf space devoted to cereals/pastas/grains/bread, junk food and dairy showed a trend to higher national BMI. Percent supermarket shelf space devoted to healthful foods across 10 different countries correlated with lower BMI ranking by WHO statistics; percent shelf space of grains, dairy and junk food was different for each country and showed a positive trend with BMI. Supermarket shelf space use can offer insight into a country’s BMI, and represents a potential intervention avenue for positive health impact. Further work is needed to confirm this correlation in other nations, regions, and socioeconomic and demographic categories within nations.