The impact of super apps on the nutrition transition in low- and middle-income countries: Evidence from Indonesia

Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are experiencing a nutrition transition from traditional diets to high-energy, processed foods, increasing non-communicable disease risks. Digitalization of food systems plays a significant role in shaping this transition. This paper investigates the impact of super app expansions (including food delivery, ridesharing, and other daily life assistance) on nutritional outcomes. We exploit the staggered rollout of Gojek and Grab between 2015 and 2018 in Indonesia to estimate their effects on nutritional and dietary outcomes, combining super app expansion data with Indonesia’s Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) and the National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas). We incorporate baseline covariates using a doubly robust difference-in-differences approach to tackle endogeneity issues. The results show that super apps increase BMI, which adversely affects the incidence of overweight and obesity. The effect is more pronounced in cities and districts with online food delivery features. These apps disproportionally increase BMI among individuals who are already overweight/obese, younger, and more affluent (i.e., higher education, higher income, in employment), indicating higher usage among these groups. This is due to increased consumption of unhealthy food (i.e., salty and prepared foods). On the other hand, super apps have the potential to reduce underweight and improve dietary diversity. These findings highlight the role of super apps in the nutrition transition in LMICs.