As part of the larger EATWELL Project, which is focused on effective policy interventions to promote healthy nutrition for all in the EU, the EATWELL survey is an international study based on random samples of more than 3,000 computer-aided web interviews that assessed public acceptance of nutrition policies in the UK, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Poland depending on age, economic wealth, political views, obesity attributions, and the willingness to pay for such policies. Dr Mario Mazzocchi presented the preliminary survey results of the project, which was funded by the EU Commission, on October 27 at the University of Bologna during the 11th FENS European Nutrition Conference in Madrid.
According to Dr Mazzocchi:
“The two policy actions most accepted are the improvement of nutritional education in schools and nutrition labeling measures. In contrast, the least accepted policies are the control of the nutritional content of workplace meals and the introduction of food and drink advertising bans for adults.”
The way people perceive what causes obesity is highly significant when explaining support of healthy eating policies. Researchers found that the most accepted cause in all respondents was reported as obesity due to lack of personal willpower of changing food habits and exercise. The second highest perceived cause was ‘discounting’, or the tendency to succumb to immediate satisfaction rather than thinking of future health implications. The investigators found that those who blame external factors as a cause of obesity are more supportive than those who put the blame on personal factors.
They discovered that support for nutrition policies rises with age and physical activity levels and is lower in economic wealth. Individuals with a higher than average alcohol consumption are also less likely to be supportive, similar are those who eat out at fast food restaurants or those who frequently consume prepared meals. The investigators found that political views also seem to influence acceptance, with conservative political views being linked to lower support levels in terms of advertising regulations and information measures. In terms of fiscal measures, ‘left-of-center’ individuals are substantially more supportive.
The investigators observed great variations between countries in terms of accepting nutrition policies. According to Dr Mazzocchi:
“Denmark is the most supportive of fiscal interventions, and is also more willing to pay for healthy eating policies in general, less than 16% of Danish citizens would oppose a tax rise to fund healthy eating actions, and most are prepared to accept a modest rise in taxes to fund measures like price subsidies for healthy foods, free home deliveries for the elderly and education measures”.
Other countries were found to prefer fewer healthy eating policies and lower taxes.
Written by Petra Rattue