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

Abstract

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.

Are Saudi adults supportive of Saudi Food & Drug Authority’s food policies? Assessment of public support & awareness for Saudi Food & Drug Authority’s food policies

“…Particularly, high support was for food policies of requiring restaurants and coffee shops to report calorie amounts in foods and beverages, reducing salt amount in bread, eliminating hydrogenated oil from food products, and preventing written misleading nutrition information on food products, and preventing food advertisements without permission. These ndings are consistent with similar studies in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S.A., where people tend to support intrusive food polices, such as calorie menu labeling, food package warnings, and maximum salt levels for packaged products [19,23].…”

“…For example, in a study by Julia et al found that older French adults were more likely to support a sugary drink tax [26], while a study by Curry et al found that young American adults were more supportive of such a tax [27]. In addition, a greater health consciousness among women supporting food policies had been reported previously [23,28]. In the current study, awareness and support for food policies generally were among middle class income male young adults who were employed.…”

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

“…Participants were particularly supportive of reformulation around reducing salt content in packaged foods. 26,28,35 Older participants, 26,28 females 28 and those with university qualifications 28 were more likely to support this policy. One study found no variables were associated with support for this policy.…”

“…Attitudes towards reformulation of products to contain less of a certain 'negative' ingredient, for example, sugar, salt or saturated fat, was investigated as a policy option in four studies. This policy initiative had moderate (60%) 28,35 to high (87%) 24 levels of support. Participants were particularly supportive of reformulation around reducing salt content in packaged foods.…”

The Acceptance of Key Public Health Interventions by the Polish Population Is Related to Health Literacy, But Not eHealth Literacy

“…In 2019, Kwon et al reported the results of a multi-country survey (Australia, Canada, Mexico, UK, USA) to assess public support for food policies promoting healthy diets [68]. They found that taxes on sugary drinks were supported by 30.0% in the USA to 53.8% in Mexico.…”