Support for food policy initiatives is associated with knowledge of obesity-related cancer risk factors

Watson, Wendy L.; Weber, Marianne; Hughes, Clare; Wellard, Lyndal; Chapman, Kathryn

doi:10.17061/phrp27341703

Cited by 12 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…10,24,25,[32][33][34] Also highly supported were better regulation of health ratings or claims on packaged foods 25,26,31 and health warning labels on unhealthy foods. 25,27 Levels of support have remained high over time, although one recent survey on regulation of health claims received only moderate support from participants. 26 However, this study 26 used a very different question format to the other studies examining this issue, making comparisons difficult.…”

Section: Improving Food Labelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do the Australian public think of regulatory nutrition policies? A scoping review

et al. 2020

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Summary Effective government policies are crucial to creating healthy food environments. However, changing public policy is a slow and challenging process involving many competing factors. One cited factor is public opinion towards a proposed policy. This study aimed to systematically explore public opinion on regulatory nutrition policy issues in Australia from 2009 to 2019, to determine whether low levels of public opinion corresponded with the low levels of regulatory policy action in this country. We found that there was varying levels of public support in Australia for public health nutrition action. Regulatory‐ and legislative‐based policies generally had moderate to high levels of support except for food and drink taxes, which had low to moderate support. Despite high levels of public support for certain policy initiatives, national public health nutrition policy in Australia has not evolved consistently with the level of public support nor the evidence base over the past decade indicating other more important factors at play in policymaking.

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Section: Improving Food Labelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do the Australian public think of regulatory nutrition policies? A scoping review

et al. 2020

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“…Many of these studies also examined the relationship between the demographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, education) of individuals and policy support; however, the direction and significance of these relationships differed both between policies and between studies. Most prior studies were conducted within individual countries including Canada [14], France [15], the United Kingdom (UK) [16], Australia [17,18], Netherlands [19], and the United States (US) [20][21][22], or within the European Union [11,12,23]. Thus, it is largely unknown how the social and political environment within each country influences public support, and whether location may contribute to the conflicting findings in previous studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multi-country survey of public support for food policies to promote healthy diets: Findings from the International Food Policy Study

et al. 2019

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Background: Poor diet is a significant contributor to the burden of global disease. There are numerous policies available to address poor diets; however, these policies often require public support to encourage policy action. The current study aimed to understand the level of public support for a range of food policies and the factors associated with policy support. Methods: An online survey measuring support for 13 food policies was completed by 19,857 adults in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). The proportion of respondents that supported each policy was compared between countries, and the association between demographic characteristics and policy support was analysed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: The level of support varied between policies, with the highest support for policies that provided incentives (e.g., price subsidies) or information (e.g., calorie labelling on menus), and the lowest support for those that imposed restrictions (e.g., restrictions on sponsorship of sport events). This pattern of support was similar in all countries, but the level differed, with Mexico generally recording the highest support across policies, and the US the lowest. Several demographic characteristics were associated with policy support; however, these relationships varied between countries. Conclusion: The results suggest that support for food policies is influenced by several factors related to the policy design, country, and individual demographic characteristics. Policymakers and advocates should consider these factors when developing and promoting policy options.

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“…The acceptability of an intervention can increase as its perceived effectiveness increases ( Reynolds et al, 2018 ) and support is generally higher for policies which are in further stage of their implementation ( Bos, van der Lans, van Kleef, & van Trijp, 2018 ). Relatedly, HWLs may have a symbiotic effect with acceptability, where increased knowledge of health harms may increase acceptability ( Watson, Weber, Hughes, Wellard, & Chapman, 2017 ) and the HWLs can increase the awareness of the links between calories, obesity and health harms – as demonstrated by perceived disease risk increases in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Impact of health warning labels on snack selection: An online experimental study

et al. 2020

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Excessive consumption of energy-dense food increases the risk of obesity, which in turn increases the risk of non-communicable diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and most non-smoking-related cancers. Health warning labels (HWLs) that communicate the adverse health consequences of excess energy consumption could reduce intake of energy-dense foods. The aim of the current study was to estimate the impact on selection of energy-dense snacks of (a) image-and-text HWLs (b) text-only HWLs and (c) calorie information. In a between-subjects, 3 (HWL: image-and-text, text-only, no label) x 2 (calorie information: present, absent), factorial experimental design, participants (N = 4134) were randomised to view a selection of energy-dense and non-energy-dense snacks with one of five label types or no label. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants selecting an energy-dense snack in a hypothetical vending machine task. The proportion of participants selecting an energy-dense snack was reduced in all label groups, relative to the no label group (no label: 59%; calories only: 54%; text-only HWL: 48%; text-only HWL with calories: 44%; image-and-text HWL: 37%; image-and-text HWL with calories: 38%). Compared to the no label group, participants were least likely to select an energy-dense snack in the image-and-text HWL group (OR = 0.46, 95%CI = 0.40, 0.54, p < 0.001). Health warning labels – particularly those including an image and text - have the potential to reduce selection of energy-dense snacks in an online setting. Their impact on selection and consumption in real-world settings awaits testing.

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Support for food policy initiatives is associated with knowledge of obesity-related cancer risk factors

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

What do the Australian public think of regulatory nutrition policies? A scoping review

What do the Australian public think of regulatory nutrition policies? A scoping review

A multi-country survey of public support for food policies to promote healthy diets: Findings from the International Food Policy Study

Impact of health warning labels on snack selection: An online experimental study

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