Objective: To determine the difference of obesity pattern and food choices between super market and public market consumers in Kandy District, Sri Lanka
Methods: Data was collected from individuals who visit supermarket (n = 214) and individuals who use public market (n = 124) during three hours of time. Good pack of those who provided the consent, was assessed by using a check list. Weight and height measurement was taken using standard methods. SPSS 16 version was used to assess the data.
Results: Mean age of supermarket and public market visitors were (45.8 SD (13.9) CI = 95%) and (49.5 SD 13.8 CI = 95%). 165 females (73.7%) were in supermarket group while 84 females (67.7 %) were in public market group. 77.2% supermarket visitors and 67.7% public market visitors are regular customers. Vegetable and fruit contain of the supermarket users, are 35.7% and 29% respectively, while 81.5% and 50.8% of public market users have vegetable and fruits in their good pack. Availability of carbohydrate enriched food in supermarket and public market are 61.6% and 62.1% respectively. In terms of availability of processed meat products, supermarket and public market users are 40.6% and 17.7%. Mean BMI of the supermarket and public market group is 25.4 Kgm-2 (SD 4.07) and 24.1 Kgm-2 (SD 4.6) respectively. 52.3 % of the supermarket users are overweight while 37.9% of public market users are overweight and obese.
Conclusion: Compared to the public market users, supermarket customers likely to contain more unhealthy foods and less amount of vegetable and fruits in their good pack.