Nutrition policy research that can lead to reduced childhood obesity in the U.S.

One of the clear insights from obesity prevention research over the past few years is the potential for impactful, sustainable, and cost-effective policy change. This insight draws on lessons of the campaign to reduce tobacco use in the U.S. The tobacco campaigns clearly demonstrated the power of policy and regulatory change to promote healthier behavior. Although treatment and educational programs also have helped to reduce smoking, three key sets of policies drove down smoking rates in the U.S.: (1) the ban on advertising cigarettes on television; (2) the imposition of substantial taxes on tobacco; and (3) smoking restrictions in public spaces. The combination of these policies has saved countless lives. Policy-based strategies have been a powerful method of tobacco control and also have formed the basis of many other successful public health achievements such as vaccinations, motor-vehicle safety, safer foods, and safer workplaces. Thus, using policy approaches to modify the food environment could be a powerful tool to reduce obesity at the population level. As with tobacco control, addressing the epidemic of obesity in the U.S. will require major policy and contextual changes. Although dietary and eating behavior and obesity development are complex and are influenced by multiple factors, policy approaches to promote healthy eating provide important tools that can be applied in many settings where children and adults spend their time. Policy change at local, state, and national levels can make it more likely that healthy choices are the easy choices and that both children and adults can reduce their excess intake of nutritionally empty or harmful foods and beverages and decrease their obesity risk. The authors in the accompa-