Preventing Childhood Obesity through State Policy: Qualitative Assessment of Enablers and Barriers

Abstract

As the prevalence of obesity rapidly climbs among youth in the United States, public health practitioners and policymakers seek effective means of slowing and reversing these trends. Recently, many state laws and regulations addressing childhood obesity have been introduced and enacted. Understanding determinants of such legislation may inform the development and passage of future policies. For this study, key-informant interviews were conducted with 16 legislators and staffers from 11 states in 2005-2006 to examine qualitative factors that enable and impede state-level childhood obesity prevention legislation. Commonly cited factors positively influencing the passage of childhood obesity prevention legislation included national media exposure, introduction of the policy by senior legislators, and gaining the support of key players including parents, physicians, and schools. Noteworthy barriers included powerful lobbyists of companies that produce unhealthy foods and misconceptions about legislating foods at schools. Although the total number of informants was modest, their valuable insights provide policymakers and practitioners with a set of enablers and barriers to be considered when pursuing state-level policy.

Playing the policy game: a review of the barriers to and enablers of nutrition policy change

“…Lack of resources, skills and knowledge from health advocates The limited resources, money and time of health advocates were cited as significant barriers to policy change (20,34,37) . The volunteer advocates in the Oregon Healthy Foods Schools Bill felt themselves to be at a distinct disadvantage against paid, full-time lobbyists.…”

Stakeholder perceptions of a comprehensive school food policy in Western Australia

“…Evidence of positive stakeholder reactions to potential policy changes can provide assurance that new policies will be acceptable and achieve adequate levels of compliance [7,8]. In the school food context, important policy stakeholders are parents, principals, teachers, canteen managers, and representatives of Parents and Citizens (P&C) Committees [9,10].…”

Translating Theory into Practice: Exploring UN Arabian Version of the Politics- Administration Dichotomy

“…Dodson et al (2009) interviewed legislators and staffers with the purpose of determining what qualitative factors impede state-level childhood obesity prevention legislation. They argued that national media exposure, introduction of the policy by a senior legislator, and support of parents, physicians, and schools could exert a positive influence on legislation that could curtail obesity and on companies that make unhealthy food options.…”