Do Target Groups Appreciate Being Targeted? An Exploration of Healthy Eating Policy Acceptance

Abstract

The impact of healthy eating policies does not meet policy makers' expectations; as such, better targeting and stakeholder support could improve their effectiveness. This research aims to identify whether a target group (the group affected by the policy measure) has higher acceptance levels or not. The study compared acceptance among citizens from the target with a matching nontarget group, based on data from an online survey on citizens' support of healthy eating policies conducted among 3,003 adult respondents from five European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Poland, and the UK). The policies explored were bans on advertising to children and school vending machines, school meal regulations, education campaigns at schools or workplaces, menu nutrition information and food labelling, price subsidies for healthy food, and accessibility measures for the elderly. The study found that parents were more supportive of vending machine bans but less of school education campaigns. Education campaigns at workplaces were supported more by respondents regularly eating out at lunch, menu nutrition information and food labelling by those considering nutrition content in their food purchase, and price subsidies for healthy food by those in financial difficulty. Accessibility measures for the elderly, however, were supported less by older respondents. Members of the target group tend towards but are not especially supportive of healthy eating policy measures intended for themselves or their children, and the pattern differs by country.Thus, acceptance of policies should be surveyed by target group and country in advance of implementation. In the case of a lack of acceptance, the barriers should be explored further so that policy benefits can more effectively be communicated, to increase stakeholder cooperation and favourable peer influence.

A citizen perspective on nutritional warnings as front-of-pack labels: insights for the design of accompanying policy measures

“…and themes identified in the follow-up open-ended question about the motives for the response: Uruguayan citizens aged 18-75 years (n 1416), 61 % female, who responded to an online survey about nutritional warnings as front-of-pack labels, 2017 (Table 3). This result is in accordance with previous studies conducted in Europe that report that nutrition labelling is typically one of the policies with the highest citizen acceptance (30,31) . Nutrition labelling has also been regarded as one of the policies with the lowest stakeholder opposition (41) , which enables quick policy action.…”

“…Citizen perception of public policies is shaped by sociodemographic variables ( 30 , 31 ) . In the specific case of nutrition labelling, prior research has shown that gender, age and socio-economic level modulate the ability of FOP labels to modify food choices due to differences in nutrition knowledge and the relative importance attached to the nutritional composition of foods in daily purchase decisions ( 32 , 33 ) .…”

The role of vending channels in marketing: A systematic review and taxonomy of studies

“…In a cross‐European study, Aschemann‐Witzel et al . (2016) showed that target groups directly affected by health policy measures are more supportive than non‐target groups in terms of healthy eating initiatives involving banning vending machines in schools, education campaigns in workplaces, food labelling, and price subsidies. Regardless of explicit support from different stakeholders (e.g., parents, students, school authorities, and business managers) vis‐à‐vis the nutritional quality of products sold through vending machines (Murnan et al ., 2006; Carrad et al ., 2015), the proportion of healthy items offered through these channels, both at public and private locations, is still limited (Webber et al ., 2007; Pasch et al ., 2011; Nowak et al ., 2012; Royo‐Bordonada and Martínez‐Huedo, 2014; Raposo et al ., 2016; Vine et al ., 2017; Monroy‐Parada et al ., 2018).…”

Analisis situasi stunting di Kabupaten Manggarai Timur

“…Mayoritas studi tentang pemahaman masyarakat terhadap kebiasaan makan yang sehat umumnya terfokus pada mengkontraskan persepsi dalam masyarakat terhadap panduan makanan sehat yang dikeluarkan oleh institusi kesehatan (Aktaç et al, 2019;Aschemann-Witzel, Bech-Larsen, & Capacci, 2016;Ducrot et al, 2017;Goh et al, 2009). Ini logis, sebab, secara umum, persepsi umum di masyarakat mengenai kebiasaan makan yang sehat sepertinya dipengaruhi oleh panduan makan sehat itu yang umumnya merekomendasikan sayuran dan buah, daging, pembatasan lemak dan garam, dan keragaman jenis makanan (Donato, 2006;Raine, 2005;Taylor et al, 2005).…”