Could how you purchase food online be linked to your social position and likelihood of obesity? New research from the UK suggests it might be. People who order takeaway deliveries online are more likely to be from households with lower-level jobs and to be living with obesity, according to a new study. The UK-focused research, published in the journal BMJ Public Health, also found that high-income households were more likely to purchase groceries online than lower-income households.
The study was based on pre-pandemic data from more than 1,500 households in London and the north of England in February 2019 and sought to find out how the availability of food online has influenced social inequality and diet. Overall, the researchers found that around 13 per cent of respondents used delivery apps for takeaway over seven days and 15 per cent of respondents ordered groceries online over four weeks. A little over three per cent used both services.
The researchers looked at both income and social grade based on occupation - which was divided into four categories ranging from managerial and professional jobs in the highest category to unskilled manual workers, state pensioners and those unemployed with benefits in the lowest one. While online grocery purchases were associated with higher income, there was no association between these and a person’s occupation. Meanwhile, respondents with lower social positions based on occupation had twice the odds of using takeaway delivery service.