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Evidence to catalyse food environment policy actions towards healthy diets and prevention of the double burden of malnutrition in Kenya (FEP- ACTION)

Kenya, 2025
Health and Well-Being (HaW)
Dr. Gershim Asiki
Last modified May 14, 2026 Page views 8 Documentation in PDF Metadata DDI/XML JSON

Identification

IDNO
DDI-KEN-APHRC- FEP-ACTION-2025-v1.0
Title
Evidence to catalyse food environment policy actions towards healthy diets and prevention of the double burden of malnutrition in Kenya (FEP- ACTION)
Country
Name Country code
Kenya KEN
Abstract
Background:
Kenya lacks comprehensive policies for regulating the food environment, thus there is a high level of unhealthy food consumption. The goal of the Food Environment Policy-Action project is to build evidence and mobilize multi-stakeholder actions towards the development of a double-duty bundle of four food environment policies that prevent the consumption of unhealthy diets and promote the consumption of nutrient rich and energy-dense healthy foods.
Objective:
The main objective was to generate evidence to inform the development of 4 policies for healthier and more equitable consumer food environments,
Study methods:
The study adopted a mixed methodology. The quantitative methods entailed; (i) validation of a Nutrient Profile Model through quality of food ranking by nutrition experts (ii) assessing the understanding of the Front of Pack Label (FoPL) by consumers and how this informs consumer purchasing intention. A desk review and key informant interviews were conducted to assess the legal feasibility of the law-making processes in Kenya to locate feasible policy options, and human right approaches for stronger accountability by the government. The study also employed group model building (GMB), a system dynamics (SD) approach to gain insights into the connections between variables influencing food-related policymaking. Key informant interviews were conducted to determine approaches required to address gender and other inequities in the food system and legal pathways that enable the policy-making process.
Tests of the level of agreement between judgments of the nutrition experts and Kenya NPM were used for the NPM evaluation. Descriptive analysis of consumer choices of the FoPL and effects of the label characteristics on the choice of food was done. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse emerging themes for the qualitative data.
This project was funded through the Catalyzing Change for Health and Sustainable Food Systems (CCHeFS) Initiative, a co-funding partnership between IDRC and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Version

Version number
DDI-KEN-APHRC- FEP-ACTION-2025-v1.0
Version Date
2025-12-16
Version Notes
N/A

Coverage

Geographic Coverage
Kenya (47 counties)
Unit of Analysis
Nutrition professionals
Universe
Nutrition professionals (Dietetics, Nutrition Human, Food sciences, Nutrition Medicine, Nutrition Biochemistry)

Producers and sponsors

Authoring entity/Primary investigators
Agency Name Affiliation
Dr. Gershim Asiki African Population and Health Research Center
Producers
Name Affiliation Role
Dr. Gerhim Asiki African Population and Health Research Center Principle Investigator
Dr. Shukri Mohamed African Population and Health Research Center Co-Investigator
Jane Mangwana African Population and Health Research Center Co-Investigator
Veronica Sanda Ojiambo African Population and Health Research Center Co-Investigator
Milka Wanjohi African Population and Health Research Center Co-Investigator
Helen Gitau African Population and Health Research Center Co-Investigator
James Kavai African Population and Health Research Center Data Documentation Specialist
Caroline Karugu African Population and Health Research Center Data Manager
Funding Agency/Sponsor
Name Role
Funded by IDRC & Rockefeller Foundation Funder
Other Identifications/Acknowledgments
Name Affiliation Role
Bonface Ingumba African Population and Health Research Center Data Governance Officer

Sampling

Sampling Procedure
This study used a cross-sectional experimental design in which nutrition professionals were randomly assigned food products for evaluation. Each participant was allocated 40 unique food items drawn from 11 predefined food categories based on the Kenya Nutrient Profile Model (KNPM). Randomization was implemented using a pre-generated allocation list linking participant IDs to specific product classifications and items, ensuring that no participant evaluated the same product more than once and that exposure across categories was broadly balanced. The sampling framework was designed to accommodate up to 1000 participants to account for potential variation in response rates; however, the final analytic sample comprised 690 participants, resulting in 27,600 participant-product evaluations. The primary unit of analysis was the participant-product evaluation.
Deviations from the Sample Design
The final analytic sample included 690 participants rather than the planned target sample size of 1,000 participants. This represents a 31.0% reduction from the planned target sample size. This deviation did not affect the randomization procedure, as product allocation was implemented using the pre-generated random assignment list. Each included participant was assigned 40 unique food items, and no participant was assigned duplicate products.
Response Rate
Among the 690 participants included in the final analytic sample, all completed their assigned product evaluations, giving a 100% completion rate among included participants. Relative to the planned target sample size of 1,000 participants, the achieved analytic sample represented 69.0% of the target sample.
Weighting
No sampling weights were applied, as the study design relied on controlled random allocation with equal probability of assignment.

Data Collection

Dates of Data Collection (YYYY/MM/DD)
Start date End date
2025-08-18 2025-09-12
Mode of data collection
Face-to-face [f2f]
Supervision
Because the survey was conducted entirely online (link distributed via WhatsApp, participants filling the questionnaire on their own phones or computers), there were no formal field teams comprising controllers and supervisors assigned per interviewer. The concept of an "interviewer" in the traditional face-to-face sense did not apply; nutrition professionals self-administered the questionnaire. Consequently, there were no designated controllers or supervisors allocated on a per-interviewer basis.
The main role of supervision carried out by myself was to receive any issues or queries raised by the nutrition professionals (via email or phone calls) and address them promptly. This included clarifying questions about questionnaire content, resolving technical access problems, and ensuring the smooth completion of the online survey.
No field visits were conducted, as the survey was internet-based. Upper management therefore did not make any in-person visits to a physical field site. All oversight and problem-solving were handled remotely through email and telephone communication.
Type of Research Instrument
The validation survey for the NPM was conducted online, with the link distributed to nutrition professionals through their WhatsApp groups. Participants completed the English-language questionnaire on either their phones or computers. The survey targeted professionals in the fields of Dietetics, Human Nutrition, Food Sciences, Nutrition Medicine, and Nutrition Biochemistry.

Data Processing

Cleaning Operations
Data processing followed a structured cleaning and validation protocol to ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency. Duplicate checks confirmed that all participant identifiers were unique and that no participant evaluated the same product more than once. Completeness checks verified that each participant evaluated exactly 40 food items, resulting in a fully complete dataset with no missing observations. Product names were standardized to ensure consistent labeling, and all items were classified into 11 KNPM-based food categories. Minor inconsistencies, including isolated product misclassification, were corrected during cleaning. Sociodemographic variables were harmonized through recoding and consolidation of overlapping categories. Derived variables were generated to support analysis, including binary indicators for nutrients of concern and aggregated expert judgement measures at the product level. The final dataset included 690 participants, 27,600 observations, and 130 unique food products, and was confirmed to be internally consistent.
Other Processing
N/A

Data Appraisal

Estimates of Sampling Error
The dataset demonstrates strong internal validity and analytical reliability due to its complete structure, balanced design, and randomized allocation of food products. The requirement for each participant to evaluate an equal number of items ensured consistency across observations and minimized bias related to differential exposure. The large number of observations supports robust statistical analysis and reliable comparison across food categories and nutrient profiling models. However, the use of nutrition professionals as participants may limit generalizability to the broader population. Additionally, although randomization ensured overall balance, some variation in exposure to less frequently represented categories was observed. No sampling weights were applied, as the study design relied on controlled random allocation with equal probability of assignment. Overall, the dataset is well-suited for validating nutrient profiling models and assessing agreement between expert judgement and standardized classification systems.

Data access

Contact
Name Email
African Population and Health Research Center datarequest@aphrc.org
Conditions
All non-APHRC staff seeking to use data generated at the Center must obtain written approval to use the data from the Director of Research. This form is developed to assess applications for data use and facilitate responsible sharing of data with external partners/collaborators/researchers. By entering into this agreement, the undersigned agrees to use these data only for the purpose for which they were obtained and to abide by the conditions outlined below:

1. Data Ownership: The data remain the property of APHRC; any unauthorized reproduction and sharing of the data is strictly prohibited. The user will, therefore, not release nor permit others to use or release the data to any other person without the written authorization from the Center.

2. Purpose: The provided data must be used for the purpose specified in the Data Request Form; any other use not specified in the form must receive additional or separate authorization.

3. Respondent Identifiers: The Center is committed to protecting the identity of the respondents who provide information in its research. All analytical data sets (both qualitative and quantitative) released by the Data Unit MUST be anonymized by removing the respondent identifiers to protect the identity of the respondents. By accepting to use APHRC data, the user is pledging that he/she will not, under any circumstance, regenerate the identifiers or permit others to use the data to learn the identity of any individual, household or community included in any data set.

4. Confidentiality pledge: The user will not use nor permit others to use the data to report any information in the data sets that could identify, directly or by inference, individuals or households.

5. Reporting of errors or inconsistencies: The user will promptly notify the Head of the Statistics and Survey Unit any errors discovered in the data as soon as the errors are discovered.

6. Publications resulting from APHRC data: The Center requires external collaborators to work with APHRC staff on all publications resulting from its data. In order to facilitate this, lead authors should send a detailed concept note of the paper (including the background, rationale, data, analytical methods, and preliminary findings) to the Principle Investigator (or Theme Leader) for the project (with a copy to the Director of Research), who will circulate the abstract to concerned researchers for possible expression of interest in participating in the publication as co-authors. Any exception to the involvement of APHRC staff should be approved by the Director of Research, APHRC.

7. Security: The user will take responsibility for the security of the data by ensuring that the data are used and stored in a secure environment where access is password protected. This will ensure that non-authorized people do not have access to the data.

8. Loss of privilege to use data: In the event that APHRC determines that the data user is in violation of the conditions for using the data, or if the user wishes to cancel this agreement, the user will destroy the data files provided to him/her. APHRC retains the right to revoke this agreement or inform publishers to withhold publication of any work based wholly or in part on its data if the conditions for using the data are violated.

9. Acknowledgement: Any work/reports from this data must acknowledge APHRC as the source of these data. For example, the acknowledgement for our data is:

"This research utilizes data collected through the "Filling Gaps in Evidence to Enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Among Vulnerable Populations in the East and Horn of Africa (Baobab)" program. The Baobab Research Program Consortium was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by the Population Council Inc., Population Council Kenya, and the African Population and Health Research Center.
We gratefully acknowledge all study participants, health workers, health facility leadership, refugee settlement commandants, and field research assistants for their dedication in supporting and facilitating the data collection process. We also extend our gratitude to the UNHCR Regional Bureau for the East, Horn of Africa, and Great Lakes Region, UNHCR Uganda and its implementing partners, and the Government of Uganda through the Department of Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister, as well as the Reproductive and Infant Health Department, Ministry of Health, for their invaluable technical support."

10. Deposit of Reports/Papers: The user should submit electronic and paper copies of all publications generated using APHRC data to the Policy Engagement and Communications Department, with copies to the Director of Research.

11. Change of contact details: The user will promptly inform the Director of Research of any change in your personal details as contained on this data request form.
Citation requirement
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download

Metadata production

Document ID
DDI-KEN-APHRC-FEP-ACTION-2025-v1.0
Producers
Name Abbreviation Role
African Population and Health Research Center APHRC Producer
Date of Production
2025-12-16
Document version
Version 1.0 (December 2025)