How to promote healthy diets

Reposted by YevoFoodClub.com

Diet can depend on an individual’s food choices, but also the availability and affordability of healthy foods, and sociocultural factors. Therefore, promoting a healthy food environment requires involvement across multiple sectors and stakeholders, including government, public and the private sector. 

 

Governments have a central role in creating a healthy food environment that enables people to adopt and maintain healthy dietary practices.

Effective actions by policy-makers include:

• Coordinate trade, food and agricultural policies with the protection and promotion of public health:
• increase incentives for producers and retailers to grow, use and sell fruits and vegetables;
• reduce incentives for the food industry to use saturated fats and free sugars;
• set and enforce targets to reformulate food products to cut the contents of salt, fats (i.e. saturated fats and trans fats) and free sugars);
• implement the WHO recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children;
• establish standards to promote healthy, safe and affordable food in public institutions;
• encourage private companies to provide healthy food in their workplaces;
• set incentives and rules so consumers have healthy, safe and affordable food choices;
• encourage transnational, national and local food services and catering outlets to improve the nutritional quality of their food, create real choices, and review portion size and price;
• consider taxes and subsidies to encourage food manufacturers to produce healthier food and make healthy products available and affordable.
• Encourage consumers demand for healthy foods and meals:
• promote consumer awareness;
• develop school policies and programmes that encourage children to adopt a healthy diet;
• educate children, adolescents and adults about nutrition and healthy dietary practices;
• encourage culinary skills, including in schools;
• allow informed choices through proper food labelling that ensures accurate, standardized and comprehensible information on food content in line with the Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines;
• provide dietary counselling in primary health care.
• Promote healthy nutrition in infants and young children:
• implement the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes
• promote and support breastfeeding in health services and the community, including through the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.