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154 CHAPTER 7 ■ Choose Health in Food Vending Machines

The project’s purpose was to contribute to reducing the spread of obesity and
of chronic diseases related to an unhealthy lifestyle. The focus was on accom-
plishing this through healthier and more appealing options at vending machines.
The rationale of the project was twofold. On the one hand, there was a
growing request from citizens to improve the quality and the types of the prod-
ucts sold through vending machines. In fact, in Europe public opinions given
believed that soft drinks, candies, and sweet snacks—often sold through vend-
ing machines—could be a cause of obesity. In recent years, this topic has be-
come one of the priority actions affirmed by national and regional health
planning documents. In particular, the Gaining Health program recommends
the introduction of “fruit snacks, water, and low-calorie beverages with a good
nutritional content” (translation from the Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio
dei Ministri 4 maggio 2007, p. 22). The Prevention Plan of the Emilia-Romagna
Region focuses its attention on schools and suggests increasing the use of
“products that contain low simple carbohydrates, saturated fats, and additives,”
while sustaining the consumption of fruits and vegetables (translation from the
Delibera della Giunta Regionale dell’Emilia-Romagna n. 426 [Deliberation of
the Regional Council of the Emilia-Romagna Region No. 426], 2006, p. 83).
On the other hand, vending machines were the place where nutritional
choices occurred: using them for health promotion meant offering correct in-
formation regarding a proper lifestyle when an individual decided which prod-
ucts to buy and eat. Vending machines also provided opportunities to reinforce
the effectiveness of the messages, because communication activities could be in-
tegrated with the offer of healthy foods. Vending machines were widely distrib-
uted, partly as a consequence of new ways of life and of work organizations that
had reduced the possibility to have lunch at home. This trend has recently
been confirmed by Confida, the Italian Vending Association, which estimates
that there are about 1.68 million vending machines in Italy and about 6 billion
(6 thousand million) products (to eat or drink) sold through these machines
(Confida, 2007). These statistics suggest that a great number of people can po-
tentially benefit from the use of vending machines, which promote healthy
lifestyles.
The SWOT analysis of micro- and macro-environments specified the fol-
lowing aspects.

Micro-Environment
• Internal strengths:
• The Buonristoro Vending Group (a group of vending firms) contacted
the Local Health Unit of Modena and offered its willingness to develop