POLICY RESEARCHuK Policies on Food & Drink Reformulation
What does it mean to reformulate food and drink? How does it support healthier diets and lead to public health benefits? Dr Emily Prpa’s POSTNote informed UK Food Policy.
research questionMost people in the UK consume too much saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories. These diets are associated with increased risk of health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Food and drink reformulation is one of several tools to support healthier diets and it is supported by public health stakeholders in the UK and worldwide. In recent years, the UK Government has implemented voluntary and fiscal policy approaches to encourage reformulation across the food and drink sector.
What are the public health effects of food & drink reformulation programmes?
Industry engagement with reformulation programmes varies, and some stakeholders advocate for policies promoting a ‘level playing field’. Some academics warn that current programmes do not target eating behaviours of socio-economics groups who are more likely to have unhealthy diets. Researchers argue that improving the nation’s diet requires complementary policy approaches to promote healthy lifestyles, such as incentivising healthy food or restricting advertising of unhealthy food. Read POSTNote.
SOME KIND WORDSI have known emily since she was a phD student at king’s and witnessed her passion for nutrition science together with her talent for public speaking. she has continued to hone her craft as a nutrition scientist and communicator and i am thrilled to see where her career has taken her.
dr sarah berry king's college london
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