Training/Practice
Training/Health Policy and Promotion
Healthy Food Procurement Policy: An Important Intervention to Aid the Reduction in Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2014.06.021Get rights and content

Abstract

In 2010, unhealthy diets were estimated to be the leading risk for death and disability in Canada and globally. Although important, policies aimed at improving individual's skills in selecting and eating healthy foods has had a limited effect. Policies that create healthy eating environments are strongly recommended but have not yet been effectively and/or broadly implemented in Canada. Widespread adoption of healthy food procurement policies are strongly recommended in this policy statement from the Hypertension Advisory Committee with support from 15 major national health organizations. The policy statement calls on governments to take a leadership role, but also outlines key roles for the commercial and noncommercial sectors including health and scientific organizations and the Canadian public. The policy statement is based on a systematic review of healthy food procurement interventions that found them to be almost uniformly effective at improving sales and purchases of healthy foods. Successful food procurement policies are nearly always accompanied by supporting education programs and some by pricing policies. Ensuring access and availability to affordable healthy foods and beverages in public and private sector settings could play a substantive role in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases and health risks such as obesity, hypertension, and ultimately improve cardiovascular health.

Résumé

En 2010, au Canada ainsi qu’à l’échelle mondiale, les régimes alimentaires malsains étaient considérés comme étant le risque principal de mortalité et d’incapacité. Bien qu’elles soient importantes, les politiques qui visent à renforcer les compétences individuelles concernant la sélection et la consommation d’aliments sains n’ont eu qu’un effet limité. Les politiques qui mènent à la création d’environnements alimentaires sains sont fortement recommandées, mais n’ont pas encore été efficacement ou largement mises en œuvre au Canada. L’adoption généralisée de politiques d’approvisionnement en aliments sains est fortement recommandée par l’énoncé de politique du Comité consultatif sur l’hypertension composé de 15 organismes nationaux majeurs de soins de santé. L’énoncé de politique fait appel aux gouvernements pour assumer un rôle de leadership, mais souligne également les rôles principaux des secteurs commerciaux et non commerciaux, y compris les organismes scientifiques et de santé, et la population canadienne. L’énoncé de politique est basé sur une revue systématique des interventions d’approvisionnement en aliments sains qui sont presque uniformément efficaces à l’amélioration des ventes et des achats d’aliments sains. La réussite des politiques d’approvisionnement alimentaire repose presque toujours sur l’appui des programmes éducatifs, et d’autres sur les politiques de prix. La garantie d’accès et de disponibilité des boissons et des aliments sains inabordables dans les secteurs publics et privés pourrait jouer un rôle important dans la prévention des maladies non transmissibles et des risques sanitaires tels que l’obésité, l’hypertension et finalement améliorer la santé cardiovasculaire.

Section snippets

Call to Action

The supporting Canadian health and scientific organizations (Table 2) urge government and nongovernment organizations (commercial and noncommercial) to take action to broadly adopt healthy food procurement policies across the spectrum of our society. Widespread adoption of such policies will help create a healthy food environment and assist Canadians to make healthy choices. Specific recommendations are provided to governments, the commercial and noncommercial sectors, all of which share

Conclusions

Improving the health and well-being of our population and ensuring the sustainability of our health care system is a responsibility for all Canadians. Supporting the development and broad implementation of healthy food procurement polices is 1 of several key policy interventions (Table 1). The supporting organizations (Table 2) call on all individuals but specifically those with organizational responsibility for others, to immediately begin to work on implementing healthy food procurement

Acknowledgements

This call to action was developed by the Canadian Hypertension Advisory Committee (The Hypertension Advisory Committee has representatives from the Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses, Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Institute for Health Research Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ex officio), Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Pharmacists Association, Canadian

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