Le problematiche socio-economiche dell'obesità nel sistema agroalimentare: il ruolo della GDO nelle scelte di acquisto e di consumo di frutta e verdura[Socio-economic problems of obesity in the agri-food system: the modern distribution role in purchasing and consumption chooses of fruit and vegetables]

Nowadays many countries and governments must confront one of the most challenging food and health disasters ever to face human-kind: an epidemic of obesity. Even though several factors can lead to obesity, mostly food industry has been blamed for making people fat. Hence, this article provides a detailed literature review of the major economic studies and applications related to this multifactorial disease, then it focuses on the role of retailing sector in influencing consumers’ adoption of healthier food habits. In particular, the aim of the paper is to explore strategies and dynamics of retailers sector, to identify the main drivers that can be consider in order to push the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V). With this purpose eight interviews have been conducted to category managers, buyers and marketing managers of the main retailing companies operating in Italy. Thorough the in-depth interview research method authors try to highlight the factors influencing consumers’ attitude towards F&V. Furthermore an IRI InfoScan database of scanner data has been acquired to analyse F&V price elasticity. It is a monthly survey (totally 24 observations from October 2008 to August 2010) of 4 sub-categories of F&V products sold by retailers in Italy, in particular: fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, bagged fruits, and bagged vegetables. An Almost Ideal Demand System (A.I.D.S.) has been employed to investigate price influence on F&V demand. Finally some indications about limits and potentialities of retailers’ management of F&V sector are provided, trying to suggest some possible interventions to policymakers.