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An examination of public support for 35 nutrition interventions across seven countries

Version 2 2024-06-19, 15:51
Version 1 2023-02-10, 02:13
journal contribution
posted on 2023-02-10, 02:13 authored by S Pettigrew, L Booth, E Dunford, Tailane ScapinTailane Scapin, J Webster, J Wu, M Tian, D Praveen, Gary SacksGary Sacks
Abstract Background Public support for evidence-based nutrition interventions can be an important determinant of government willingness to develop and implement such interventions. The aim of this study was to assess support for a broad range of nutrition interventions across seven countries: Australia, Canada, China, India, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Assessed interventions included those relating to food availability, affordability, reformulation, labelling, and promotion. Methods Approximately 1000 adults per country (total n = 7559) completed an online survey assessing support for 35 nutrition interventions/policies. ANOVA analyses were used to identify differences between countries on overall levels of support and by intervention category. Multiple regression analyses assessed demographic and diet-related factors associated with higher levels of support across the total sample and by country. Results Substantial levels of public support were found for the assessed interventions across the seven countries and five intervention categories. The highest levels were found in India (Mean across all interventions of 4.16 (standard deviation (SD) 0.65) on a 5-point scale) and the lowest in the United States (Mean = 3.48, SD = 0.83). Support was strongest for interventions involving food labelling (Mean = 4.20, SD = 0.79) and food reformulation (Mean = 4.17, SD = 0.87), and weakest for fiscal interventions (Mean = 3.52, SD = 1.06). Consumer characteristics associated with stronger support were higher self-rated health, higher educational attainment, female sex, older age, and perceptions of consuming a healthy diet. Conclusion The results indicate substantial support for a large range of nutrition interventions across the assessed countries, and hence governments could potentially be more proactive in developing and implementing such initiatives.

History

Journal

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Volume

77

Pagination

235-245

Location

Berlin, Germany

ISSN

0954-3007

eISSN

1476-5640

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

2

Publisher

Springer