Shopping data reveals ‘food desert’ hotspots in London, suggesting where nutritional needs are not be being met
University of Nottingham
New research has used purchasing data to map areas of London where residents may be suffering from a nutritionally inadequate diet, pinpointing where there are ‘food deserts.’
Researchers from the University of Nottingham and Adelaide analysed Tesco food purchasing records from 1.6 million people across London to understand how food purchase patterns vary and what they reveal about health. Their results, published today in PLOS Complex Systems, show clear differences in the nutritional quality of food purchased in different areas of London and reveals where there are ‘food deserts’ - areas where residents may face barriers to a healthy and affordable diet.
The food and drink purchases were organised into 12 categories – grains, sweets, soft drinks, fruit and veg, fish, red meat, poultry, sauces, fats & oils, eggs, dairy and ready meals. The researchers analysed these against factors including household income, car ownership and black and minority populations.
The results showed area-specific adherence to high-sugar and high-carbohydrate purchases suggesting that residents in these areas are not accessing a nutritionally adequate diet. These behaviours are attributed to ‘food deserts’, and suggest possible barriers to people accessing nutritious foods such as high-fibre and high-protein options. Such areas are located in London’s east (e.g. Newham; Barking and Dagenham), and some areas of London’s north west (e.g. Ealing; Brent).
Poor diet and nutrition are a leading global risk to health, and accounts for 13% of deaths in the UK. Diets high in processed foods, sugars, and fats are known to cause obesity and are associated with a range of negative health outcomes including; hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. In recent years, 61% of London’s adult population were classed as overweight or obese, and childhood obesity rates (for ages 10–11) were higher than the England average. Increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanisation, and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns.
Tayla Broadbridge is a PhD student from the School of Mathematics and is part of the joint Nottingham-Adelaide PhD program. She led the research and said: “We are re-thinking urban food deserts: purchase data, not supermarket locations, shows the reality of access to healthy food in London”. A map of food stores only shows potential access – food purchase data shows the reality, revealing where Londoner’s diets are nutritionally deficient.”
She continues: “Our findings emphasise the need for targeted interventions that address local food access issues according to specific socioeconomic characteristics. To be effective interventions should be strategically targeted to areas that show nutritionally deficient purchasing behaviours, and with sociodemographic characteristics in mind. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not the most effective way of addressing food deserts in London, and interventions should be tailored to the local level to maximise the effectiveness and compliance.”
Journal
PLOS Complex Systems
Method of Research
Data/statistical analysis
Subject of Research
People
Article Publication Date
6-Nov-2025
Grocery store records reveal London food deserts
Tesco loyalty-card data show unequal purchasing of nutritious food across the city
image:
Researchers assess and model grocery store food purchases across London.
view moreCredit: Arthur Franklin, Unsplash (CC0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
A new study identified large clusters of food deserts, where residents have limited access to affordable, nutritious food, in East London—particularly Newham, Redbridge, and Barking and Dagenham—and in parts of west London such as Ealing and Brent. The findings were published November 6th in the open-access journal PLOS Complex Systems by Tayla Broadbridge of the University of Nottingham, UK, and colleagues.
Poor diet and unequal access to healthy food are linked to rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. To effectively target interventions to areas where residents face barriers to accessing healthy food, identifying these food deserts is necessary.
In the new study, researchers used the Tesco Grocery 1.0 dataset, a record of 420 million food items purchased by 1.6 million Tesco Clubcard owners who shopped at 411 Tesco grocery stores across London in 2015. Transactions were linked to geographic areas of the residential address associated with the Tesco account, but otherwise anonymized.
The study revealed distinct geographic areas where residents purchased more high-sugar, high-carbohydrate and processed foods and less fresh, high-fiber and high-protein options. Inner north-west boroughs had the most nutritious purchase trends, while those in East London and the western boroughs had the least nutritious shopping records. The researchers developed a statistical model to analyze what sociodemographic factors could predict these food desert areas and found correlations that varied by region.
In the east and west of London, higher income was associated with nutrient deficient purchases while it was associated with more nutritious purchases in the inner-west. More car ownership was associated with more nutritious purchases in a small region of London’s north-west, but with nutrient deficient purchases in the east, west, and north-west. Higher proportions of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic residents were associated with nutrient deficient purchases in the west, northeast and inner-east food deserts.
Overall, the model explained much of London’s variation in food purchasing, highlighting areas most at risk of nutrient-deficient food purchases.
“Our findings demonstrate the potential of analyzing food purchase data to identify food deserts and their drivers, and suggest that area-specific, context-sensitive interventions are necessary for the implementation of local public health strategies,” the authors say.
The authors add, “We are rethinking food deserts: purchase data, not supermarket locations, shows the reality of access to healthy food in London.”
“A map of stores only shows potential access—our data shows reality, revealing where Londoners’ diets are nutritionally deficient.”
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Complex Systems: https://plos.io/4nfSdfN
Citation: Broadbridge TP, Green JEF, Preston SP, Fadai NT, Maclean J (2025) Food purchase data reveals the locations of London’s ‘food deserts’. PLOS Complex Syst 2(11): e0000072. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcsy.0000072
Author countries: Australia, United Kingdom
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
Journal
PLOS Complex Systems
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
People
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