American journal of preventive medicine
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Food eaten away from home now accounts for about one third of total calories consumed in the U.S. Policy change could lead to sustainable improvements in restaurant and other nutrition environments. Broadly described, policy development is one of the three core functions of public health, and there is a need to more fully understand and evaluate this function. Policy process research has developed frameworks and models that can be used to understand the policy development process. ⋯ Elements that contributed to the success of a menu-labeling policy initiative in a large, urban health department have been identified. The King County case study can inform the work of others who seek to build healthier nutrition environments through policy change.
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Healthy-food financing initiatives have been endorsed as a way to improve food access, but relatively little research exists on understanding the formulation of such policies. ⋯ Enactment of the FFRI was facilitated by a window of opportunity that opened in the storm's aftermath, broad-based stakeholder buy-in, the existence of political champions, and policy-relevant information that was simple and convincing. Impediments to success included the constant turnover of city staff, a skeptical state bureaucracy, and the many competing priorities in New Orleans. This study highlights the importance of having a clear policy objective to address a well-defined and illustrated problem, key advocates in diverse organizations, and broad-based support for its implementation.
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Comparative Study
Convenience stores and the marketing of foods and beverages through product assortment.
Product assortment (presence and variety) is a key in-store marketing strategy to influence consumer choice. Quantifying the product assortment of healthier and less-healthy foods and beverages in convenience stores can inform changes in the food environment. ⋯ Convenience stores in this area provide a greater assortment of less-healthy compared with healthier foods and beverages. There are opportunities to influence consumer food choice through programs that alter the balance between healthier and less-healthy foods and beverages in existing convenience stores that serve rural and underserved neighborhoods and communities.
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Sitting time is a prevalent health risk among office-based workers. ⋯ This trial is the first with objective measurement and a comparison group to demonstrate that the introduction of a sit-stand workstation can substantially reduce office workers' sitting time both at the workplace and overall throughout the week.
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Effective strategies are needed to address obesity, particularly among minority and low-income individuals. ⋯ Despite baseline differences in healthy food purchases, a simple color-coded labeling and choice architecture intervention improved food and beverage choices among employees from all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.