Health-oriented nutrition policies

Diet and nutrition quality are major determinants for a healthy life. This chapter examines health-oriented nutrition policies and reviews the literature that assess the pathways and impact of regulatory instruments. Recognizing that regulatory tools interfere with food choices of consumers and the strategic variables of firms, we consider feedback loops between consumers, firms and the wider environment of consumption choices. The chapter first reviews how food preferences develop during childhood and may be tilted to healthier choices by public interventions including school feeding programs. It then assesses interventions in food environments by reviewing the literature on effects of changing the information environment, product reformulation, and changes in the price environment via food taxes. Evidence on the interactions between policy instruments is discussed next and emphasizes the role of feedback loops between consumer choices and decisions of firms. The result of this literature review show that there is growing evidence on the effectiveness of various policy tools that prove useful albeit their impact being small. Bringing about the necessary dietary change requires a careful combination of policy instruments for healthier food environments.