Assessing Market Food Diversity of Three Food Environments of Nairobi, Kenya, Using Spatial and Descriptive Analyses.

Abstract

The food environment (FE) is the interface where consumers interact to acquire and consume their food. Over the last two decades, the FE has changed due to lifestyle changes, globalization, economic disparities, and supermarketization. In addition, research on the food environment has focused mostly on high-income countries. Our study shows the novelty of assessing the food environment using the market food diversity (MFD) in Nairobi, a rapidly urbanizing city. We assessed the food environment of three income regions of Nairobi-using market food diversity derived from the Minimum Dietary Diversity of Women (MDD-W) tool. In August-December 2023, we used the Global Positioning System (GPS) and a list-based questionnaire to map 3548 food vendors. Descriptive statistics show that informal vendors (86%) dominated across the three income regions compared to formal vendors (14%). The high-income region was characterized by the presence of more formal vendors (24.2%) compared to the other income regions. There were statistically significant differences in food group variations among vendors. The study shows that unhealthy foods remain dominant across the three income regions. Market food diversity was highest in the high-income (3.11) region compared to the low- (2.71) and middle-income (2.35) regions. Our results underscore the need for policy implementation that supports local food environments that promote access to healthier and more nutritious diets, particularly in rapidly urbanizing cities of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Nairobi. Distinguishing income regions highlights the need for local policy officials to intervene to promote access to much healthier foods across the settlements.