Amsterdam Public Health

According to the food environment exposure monitor, the food environment in all ten Dutch municipalities studied is predominantly unhealthy. Developed by APH researchers, the monitor provides, for the first time, a standardized assessment of the extent to which residents are exposed to healthy and unhealthy food options in their neighbourhoods.

APH researchers mapped the food environment in all neighbourhoods of Almere, Amsterdam, Breda, The Hague, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Groningen, Leiden, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Tilburg. The food environment exposure monitor provides a single score indicating how healthy or unhealthy the food environment is in a given area. The score takes into account the types of food outlet, the number of outlets and the distance to these outlets.

77% of the neighborhoods became less healthy

Food pressure is measured on a scale ranging from -500 (extremely unhealthy) to +500 (extremely healthy), with 0 representing a neutral score. The lower the score, the less healthy the food environment. The researchers applied the food environment exposure monitor to data from 2014 and 2024. In 2024, all ten municipalities studied had an unhealthy food environment, with scores ranging from -252 to -327. Differences within municipalities are even greater: neighborhood scores range from relatively neutral to extremely unhealthy, with some scoring around -450. Compared with 2014, 77% of neighborhoods have become even less healthy. In addition, 93.6% of secondary schools and vocational education (MBO) institutions are located in areas with a high number of unhealthy food outlets.

Making healthy choices is difficult

“A healthy food environment is an important precondition for public health,” says APH researcher Maud ter Bogt. “Yet unhealthy food and drink options are widely available, for example near schools, in shopping streets, at train stations and public transport stops, and in residential neighbourhoods. This unhealthy food environment makes it difficult for people to make healthy choices. A consequence is that people may develop overweight and other diet-related diseases.”

Incorporating food pressure into policy

The food environment exposure monitor was developed to give municipalities better insight into their food environments and help bridge the gap between research and policy. Ter Bogt explains: “Until now, municipalities have had limited tools to systematically and spatially map the food environment, even though they have a legal responsibility to protect and promote the public health of their residents. With the food environment exposure monitor, we provide municipalities and regional public health services (GGDs) with a standardized and practical way to assess the food environment and incorporate it into spatial planning and policy decisions.”

With the monitor, municipalities can:

• Identify neighbourhoods and school environments with high levels of unhealthy food pressure
• Compare scores across areas and cities
• Track changes in the food environment over time

• Use these insights in decisions on, for example, permits, environmental plans and area development

This article is copied and adjusted from Amsterdam UMC.

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