From regulations on soda to food establishments posting nutritional information, there have been numerous attempts of changes in policy and our environment to either stymie or reverse the trend of obesity. However, the question still remains: Is it working? Drexel University decided to seek out the answer to this question by observing “natural experiments” where researchers compared people’s calorie consumption and physical activity before and after policy implementation, or compared their results with a similar group not affected by the change. Some of the results were:
DIET & FOOD POLICY CHANGES
Changes with strong impacts were ones that improved the nutritional quality of foods:
- Trans-fat bans
- Sugary food and beverage availability limits
- Higher-fat food availability limits
Changes that had smaller or no impacts in the research to date included:
- Nutritional information requirements
- Supermarkets built in underserved areas
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOCUSED CHANGES
Changes with stronger impacts included:
- Active transportation infrastructure improvements
- Changes studied after longer-term follow-up periods
More research is needed to look at physical activity effects (not just use of amenities) for built environment changes including:
- Park improvements
- Trails
- Active transportation infrastructure
More studies need to done; The results showed that changes studied after long-term follow-up periods yielded the biggest impact. Although there could be tangible changes due to these policies, it still remains uncertain if the changes can provide assistance in the battle against obesity. However, it’s ultimately up to the individual and how they react to these policies and environmental changes. But it’s interesting to see what is nudging us in the right direction.