Monitoring policy and actions on food environments: rationale and outline of the INFORMAS policy engagement and communication strategies

Abstract

The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) proposes to collect performance indicators on food policies, actions and environments related to obesity and non-communicable diseases. This paper reviews existing communications strategies used for performance indicators and proposes the approach to be taken for INFORMAS. Twenty-seven scoring and rating tools were identified in various fields of public health including alcohol, tobacco, physical activity, infant feeding and food environments. These were compared based on the types of indicators used and how they were quantified, scoring methods, presentation and the communication and reporting strategies used. There are several implications of these analyses for INFORMAS: the ratings/benchmarking approach is very commonly used, presumably because it is an effective way to communicate progress and stimulate action, although this has not been formally evaluated; the tools used must be trustworthy, pragmatic and policy-relevant; multiple channels of communication will be needed; communications need to be tailored and targeted to decision-makers; data and methods should be freely accessible. The proposed communications strategy for INFORMAS has been built around these lessons to ensure that INFORMAS's outputs have the greatest chance of being used to improve food environments.

Systematic examination of publicly-available information reveals the diverse and extensive corporate political activity of the food industry in Australia

“…This research contributes to INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/NCD Research, Monitoring and Action Support) – an initiative that aims to monitor and benchmark public and private sector actions to create healthy food environments and reduce obesity and NCDs [ 26 ]. Data collected as part of this study adds to the growing literature on corporations and public health [ 3 , 4 , 18 , 27 – 32 ], supplements projects that monitor the CPA of other industries in relation to public health [ 27 , 33 – 35 ] and can inform public health advocates and policy makers about the practices employed by food industry actors.…”

Comparison of food industry policies and commitments on marketing to children and product (re)formulation in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji

“…Globally, governments have generally relied on industry self-regulation in order to reduce food marketing to children (International Association for the Study of Obesity [IASO], 2010) and improve product formulation . Some companies are taking concerted actions to improve food environments (Access to Nutrition Index, 2013), typically in response to pressure from consumer groups, and government or non-government organisations (NGOs) in some high-income countries (Brinsden et al, 2013). However, there is concern that current industry selfregulatory approaches are insufficient to address the problem (Elliott et al, 2014;Lumley, Martin, & Antonopoulos, 2012).…”

Modifications in the Consumption of Energy, Sugar, and Saturated Fat among the Mexican Adult Population: Simulation of the Effect When Replacing Processed Foods that Comply with a Front of Package Labeling System

“…This growing obesity epidemic can be attributed to physical inactivity and significant changes in diet, such as the rise in consumption of processed foods, which has led to an increased intake of total fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium, and a decrease in fiber intake among the population [ 2 , 5 ]. Although individuals have some responsibility for the quality of their diet, the environment can strongly influence decision-making for food selection and consumption [ 6 , 7 ].…”