Optimizing child-focused nutrition policies: considerations and controversies

Abstract

Optimizing child-focused nutrition policies: considerations and controversies Unhealthy dietary behaviours and obesity among children are among the most pressing public health issues worldwide, given their high prevalence and association with negative health outcomes (1). Governments internationally are grappling with how to approach these issues from a policy perspective, ideally seeking solutions grounded in science. By enacting policy, it is anticipated that governments may be able to effectively and equitably address underlying nutrition and obesity-related risk factors at a population level, with limited effort on the part of individuals. Compared with individually targeted dietary interventions, population-level nutrition policies can offer larger and more sustained benefits for population health and at a lower cost to society (2,3). Policy is also enduring because it codifies change and survives transitions in leadership (4). As such, it can become incorporated into social norms. Schools have become a focal point for policy development as it pertains to children's nutrition, given strong consensus that school food provision should support and not undermine child health. However, the impact of current school nutrition policies on children's dietary behaviours and body weights has been mixed (5-7) , suggesting a need for more comprehensive policies that engage with additional aspects of school food environments and that also extend beyond schools. Controversies inevitably arise during policy development, however, and several papers in this issue of Public Health Nutrition tackle some of the more contentious issues pertaining to child nutrition policies, such as the need for, content, format and potential unintended negative consequences of policy.

Programmes, policies and implementation

“…Whether adoption of policies/guidelines has a measurable effect on individual behaviours and outcomes is addressed in a second editorial in this issue of Public Health Nutrition (8) . But as Gregorič et al (9) note, 'guidelines alone do not result in the required changes in practice' -a clear prerequisite is the uptake or adoption of those guidelines.…”

“…Besides the implementation of programmes targeted at changing individual behaviours, the implementation of policies and guidelines is also potentially important for their influence on the food environment. Whether adoption of policies/guidelines has a measurable effect on individual behaviours and outcomes is addressed in a second editorial in this issue of Public Health Nutrition (8) . But as Gregorič et al (9) note, 'guidelines alone do not result in the required changes in practice'a clear prerequisite is the uptake or adoption of those guidelines.…”