Although meal delivery services have been commonplace in some Asian cities for decades, their widespread proliferation in Belgium is relatively recent. Research suggests that greater access to ready-to-eat meals is positively associated with their consumption. During the COVID-19 pandemic, work-from-home directives and restrictions on retail operations (e.g. bans on in-store dining) led more people to use meal delivery services. Living in urban housing with restrictive, poorly designed kitchens, an increasingly common situation in cities, may further contribute to this tendency. At present, little is known about the impacts of this shift on consumers and local food retailers, although research has shown that ready-to-eat meals are often less healthy than home-cooked meals. Developing a deeper understanding of the determinants and implications of their use is therefore important, particularly given the links between unhealthy diets and obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer.
Researcher: Laura Oostenbach, Allan Estandarte
Promotor: Lukas Thornton
Funding: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen (FWO)
Period: 2023-2027