Prevention of obesity requires policies that work. In this Series paper, we propose a new way to understand how food policies could be made to work more effectively for obesity prevention. Our approach draws on evidence from a range of disciplines (psychology, economics, and public health nutrition) to develop a theory of change to understand how food policies work. We focus on one of the key determinants of obesity: diet. The evidence we review suggests that the interaction between human food preferences and the environment in which those preferences are learned, expressed, and reassessed has a central role. We identify four mechanisms through which food policies can affect diet: providing an enabling environment for learning of healthy preferences, overcoming barriers to the expression of healthy preferences, encouraging people to reassess existing unhealthy preferences at the point-of-purchase, and stimulating a food-systems response.
Technology Partners: MimirTech
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/smart-food-policies-obesity-prevention
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/corinna-hawkes
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/trenton-g-smith
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/jo-jewell-et-al
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/journal/lancet
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/obesity
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/non-communicable-diseases
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/food-policy
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/thesaurus/junk-food
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/nutrition
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/child-health
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/united-kingdom-uk
[13] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/food-standards
[14] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/denmark
[15] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/legislation
[16] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/subsidies
