We go hunting...: understanding experiences of people living with obesity and food insecurity when shopping for food in the supermarket to meet their weight-related goals.

Hunter, Emma; Stone, Rebecca A.; Brown, Adrian; Hardman, Charlotte A.; Johnstone, Alexandra M.; Greatwood, Hannah C.; Dineva, Mariana; Douglas, Flora

Abstract

The high prevalence of food insecurity in the United Kingdom has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. In high-income countries, those experiencing food insecurity struggle to buy and consume foods that meet Government healthy eating recommendations, and are at increased risk of obesity, linked to poor diet quality. Individuals in high-income countries purchase most of their food to consume at home from supermarkets, making this an important context within which healthier and environmentally sustainable food purchasing should be supported. However, the lived experience of supermarket food purchasing in people living with obesity and food insecurity has not been explored in depth. Adults, living in England and Scotland, who self-identified as living with obesity and food insecurity and looking to reduce their weight, were recruited to take part in semi-structured interviews (n = 25) or focus groups (n = 8) to explore their experience of shopping for food in the supermarket. Using thematic analysis, four main themes were generated: 1) the Restricted Consumer - restrictions around the type of food purchased, where food can be purchased and the resulting emotional toll; 2) the Conscious Consumer - decision making and effortful practices both in preparation of and during the shopping trip; 3) Mitigating the Rising Cost of Food - agency and actions taken to mitigate high food prices; and 4) Stigma - instances of perceived and/or experienced weight and poverty-related stigma, and the physical actions and cognitive social comparisons used to minimise stigma. Findings provide insights for evidence-based policy on the need for upstream changes within the wider food system to address the social determinants of health and support people living with obesity and food insecurity to eat healthier and more sustainable diets.

Citation

HUNTER, E., STONE, R.A., BROWN, A., HARDMAN, C.A., JOHNSTONE, A.M., GREATWOOD, H.C., DINEVA, M. and DOUGLAS, F. 2025. We go hunting...: understanding experiences of people living with obesity and food insecurity when shopping for food in the supermarket to meet their weight-related goals. Appetite [online], 205, article number 107794. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107794

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 25, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Nov 28, 2024
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2025
• Deposit Date: Nov 27, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 29, 2025
• Journal: Appetite
• Print ISSN: 0195-6663
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-8304
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 205
• Article Number: 107794
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107794
• Keywords: Food insecurity; Obesity; Supermarkets; Cost-of-living; Health inequalities; Lived experience; Qualitative research
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2592553
• Additional Information: The preprint for this article is available from OSF Preprints: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/xz683. ; This article has been published with separate supporting information. This supporting information has been incorporated into a single file on this repository and can be found at the end of the file associated with this output.