Abstract
BackgroundPoor 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.MethodsAn 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionThe 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.
Highlights
Poor diet is a significant contributor to the burden of global disease
It is widely agreed that the changing food environment, including the increased availability, portion size and marketing, and relatively lower price of energy dense, nutrient poor foods, is the key driver of prevailing poor dietary patterns [4], and that upstream, policy-led solutions are required to counteract these environmental drivers of poor diet [5]
Public support for policies between countries The results of the current study suggest that country of residence influences policy support levels, with Mexican respondents reporting the highest level of support for all policies across all countries, and United States (US) respondents the lowest level of support for almost all policies
Summary
Poor diet is a significant contributor to the burden of global disease. There are numerous policies available to address poor diets; these policies often require public support to encourage policy action. It is widely agreed that the changing food environment, including the increased availability, portion size and marketing, and relatively lower price of energy dense, nutrient poor foods, is the key driver of prevailing poor dietary patterns [4], and that upstream, policy-led solutions are required to counteract these environmental drivers of poor diet [5]. There are a large number of policy solutions that are routinely recommended by health organisations and advocates to improve food environments and promote healthy diets [3, 6] Despite these recommendations and evidence for the influential role of the food environment, there is lower support among policymakers for policies directed at food environments [7]. An unknown or perceived lack of public support may contribute to the limited range of implemented policies, as governments may be less inclined to implement policies unless they are strongly supported by the voting public [10]
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