The Pep Report 2026, produced by Generation Pep and the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, highlights how the food environment affects our food choices and our health. The food environment includes the contexts in which we encounter food, such as the physical surroundings, but also factors such as price, advertising and norms. For children and young people, it is shaped at home, at school, in stores and through advertising in everyday life and in social media.
The report shows, among other things, that:
5 out of 10 children eat vegetables every day and an average of 270 grams of fruit and vegetables per day
only 1 in 10 children eat vegetables, fruit and fish according to the Swedish Dietary Guidelines
5 out of 10 children are exposed to outdoor advertising for food and drinks up to five times a normal day, and about a quarter are exposed more than that
1 of 3 children buy food or drinks that they have seen advertised on social media
the home food environment contains both nutritious and less nutritious options, where greater financial resources increase access to both fruit and vegetables as well as sweets and snacks children whose guardians have a high income are more likely to report that they are in good health compared to children whose guardians have a lower income In Axfood’s stores, we meet six million customers every week. For us, the work of contributing to a better food environment is central and is in line with the goal of creating a healthier Sweden by 2030. The collaboration with Generation Pep is about making it easier to choose good food in everyday life, including through product range development, social impact on health issues and joint communication efforts. – For us, the collaboration with Generation Pep is about making it easier to eat better in everyday life. Through product development, communication and activities in the business, we can contribute to better eating habits for more people, says Emma Schleimann-Jensen, sustainability strategist and project manager for Generation Pep. Earlier this year, Axfood and Generation Pep extended their collaboration until 2028. As part of the collaboration, we are jointly developing our customer offering, for example with the Nyckelhålsmärkta ready-made meatballs with a high proportion of vegetables and legumes that were launched a few weeks ago.
