Dataset Information

Policies to Create Healthier Food Environments in Canada: Experts' Evaluation and Prioritized Actions Using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI).

ABSTRACT: Food environment policies play a critical role in shaping food choices, diets, and health outcomes. This study endeavored to characterize and evaluate the current food environment policies in Canada using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) to compare policies in place or under development in Canada as of 1 January 2017 to the most promising practices internationally. Evidence of policy implementation from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments was collated and verified by government stakeholders for 47 good practice indicators across 13 policy and infrastructure support domains. Canadian policies were rated by 71 experts from across Canada, and an aggregate score of national and subnational policies was created. Potential policy actions were identified and prioritized. Canadian governments scored 'high' compared to best practices for 3 indicators, 'moderate' for 14 indicators, 'low' for 25 indicators, and 'very little or none' for 4 indicators. Six policy and eight infrastructure support actions were prioritized as the most important and achievable. The Food-EPI identified some progress and considerable gaps in policy implementation in Canada, and highlights a particular need for greater attention to prioritized policies that can help to shift to a health-promoting food environment.

SUBMITTER: Vanderlee L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6888279 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Policies to Create Healthier Food Environments in Canada: Experts' Evaluation and Prioritized Actions Using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI).

Vanderlee Lana L Goorang Sahar S Karbasy Kimiya K Vandevijvere Stefanie S L'Abbé Mary R MR

International journal of environmental research and public health 20191114 22

Food environment policies play a critical role in shaping food choices, diets, and health outcomes. This study endeavored to characterize and evaluate the current food environment policies in Canada using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) to compare policies in place or under development in Canada as of 1 January 2017 to the most promising practices internationally. Evidence of policy implementation from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments was collated and ver ...[more]

PMID: 31739397

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Project description:ObjectivesEffective government policies are essential to increase the healthiness of food environments. The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) has developed a monitoring tool (the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)) and process to rate government policies to create healthy food environments against international best practice. The aims of this study were to pilot test the Food-EPI, and revise the tool and process for international implementation.SettingNew Zealand.ParticipantsThirty-nine informed, independent public health experts and non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives.Primary and secondary outcome measuresEvidence on the extent of government implementation of different policies on food environments and infrastructure support was collected in New Zealand and validated with government officials. Two whole-day workshops were convened of public health experts and NGO representatives who rated performance of their government for seven policy and seven infrastructure support domains against international best practice. In addition, the raters evaluated the level of difficulty of rating, and appropriateness and completeness of the evidence presented for each indicator.ResultsInter-rater reliability was 0.85 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.88; Gwet's AC2) using quadratic weights, and increased to 0.89 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.92) after deletion of the problematic indicators. Based on raters' assessments and comments, major changes to the Food-EPI tool include strengthening the leadership domain, removing the workforce development domain, a stronger focus on equity, and adding community-based programmes and government funding for research on obesity and diet-related NCD prevention, as good practice indicators.ConclusionsThe resulting tool and process will be promoted and offered to countries of varying size and income globally. International benchmarking of the extent of government policy implementation on food environments has the potential to catalyse greater government action to reduce obesity and NCDs, and increase civil society's capacity to advocate for healthy food environments.

Dataset Information

Policies to Create Healthier Food Environments in Canada: Experts' Evaluation and Prioritized Actions Using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI).

Publications

Policies to Create Healthier Food Environments in Canada: Experts' Evaluation and Prioritized Actions Using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI).

Similar Datasets

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