Policy coherence of price controls on food and noncommunicable disease prevention, WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.

Noncommunicable diseases are the leading cause of death and disability globally, with suboptimal diet being a significant risk factor. Fiscal policies that promote nutritious foods have been identified as part of a best-practice package of interventions and are a focus for governments in the current context of rising food prices. Price controls are a strategy that governments commonly apply to limit mark-up on prices of specific foods, with the aim of protecting consumers and promoting food security.

Measuring characteristics of wild and cultivated food environments: a scoping review.

Background: Global food systems are essential to sustain life; however, unhealthy diets are the leading cause of poor health and death worldwide. Natural food environments are a critical source of healthful food such as fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat and aquatic foods, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and Indigenous food systems. Understanding and monitoring natural food environments is critical to protecting the supply of healthy food, and the land and water it comes from, for current and future generations.

Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours toward Salt and Sugar Consumption in the Central Division of Fiji.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess salt and sugar-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours (KAB) of adults in the Central Division of Fiji.

Methods: A randomised stratified sample of 700 adults were selected. Questions on salt and sugar-related KABs were developed.

Convenience as a dimension of food environments: A systematic scoping review of its definition and measurement.

Convenience is a major driver of food choice throughout the world, yet it is often inconsistently conceptualised, defined and measured. This limits the scope for food systems policy and interventions to leverage convenience to improve diet and nutrition outcomes. We conducted a systematic literature review to determine how convenience is both defined and measured in food environment and nutrition research.

Food insecurity, COVID-19 and diets in Fiji - a cross-sectional survey of over 500 adults.

Introduction: Food insecurity is associated with inadequate nutrition and increased rates of chronic disease. The primary aim of this study was to assess self-reported food insecurity and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on food security, in two regional districts of Central Fiji, as part of a broader program of work on strengthening and monitoring food policy interventions. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship between food insecurity and salt, sugar and fruit and vegetable intake.

Lessons for strengthening policymaking for obesity and diet-related noncommunicable disease prevention: A narrative synthesis of policy literature from the Western Pacific Region.

Obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have a profound impact on individuals, households, health care systems, and economies in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), with the Western Pacific Region experiencing some of the highest impacts. Governments have committed to improving population diets; however, implementation challenges limit effective policy action. We undertook meta-narrative synthesis of the academic literature and used theories of policymaking and implementation to synthesize current knowledge of issues affecting the adoption and implementation of policies to prevent obesity and diet-related NCDs in LMICs in the Western Pacific Region.

Scaling up food pricing policies in the Pacific: a guide to action.

There are calls for governments around the world to adopt pricing policies, including taxes, subsidies and price controls that ensure all people have access to, and can afford, healthy diets. Despite the strong potential of pricing policies to promote healthy diets and to support a post-COVID-19 recovery, there are gaps in evidence with regard to 'how' to design and apply effective food taxes in practice, and countries report challenges in navigating the different policy options.In this practice piece, we examine the global evidence for food taxes with a view to identifying practical lessons for policy design, adoption and implementation, using the Pacific Islands Region as a case study.

Understanding the corporate political activity of the ultra - processed food industry in East Asia: a Philippines case study.

Background: Evidence is mounting that the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food and nutrition policies in ways that support market growth and protect against regulatory threats, often at the expense of public health. However, few studies have explored how this occurs in lower - middle income countries. We aimed to explore if and how the ultra - processed food industry seeks to influence food- and nutrition - related policy processes in the Philippines, a lower - middle income country in East Asia.

Strategies used by the soft drink industry to grow and sustain sales: a case-study of The Coca-Cola Company in East Asia.

Background: The market and non-market activities of the food and beverage industry contribute to unhealthy and unsustainable dietary patterns, increasingly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to describe how The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), as the world market leader in the sugar-sweetened beverage sector, operationalises their activities in LMICs in East Asia, among the world's most highly populated yet under-researched countries, to illustrate the ways in which these activities may negatively influence health outcomes.

Methods: We adopted a theoretically-guided qualitative research design and documentary analysis method.

Food trade among Pacific Island countries and territories: implications for food security and nutrition.

Background: There is growing attention to intra-regional trade in food. However, the relationship between such trade and food and nutrition is understudied. In this paper, we present an analysis of intra-regional food trade in the Pacific region, where there are major concerns regarding the nutritional implications of international food trade.

Research protocol for impact assessment of a project to scale up food policies in the Pacific.

Background: One of the challenges for countries implementing food policy measures has been the difficulty in demonstrating impact and retaining stakeholder support. Consequently, research funded to help countries overcome these challenges should assess impact and translation into practice, particularly in low-resource settings. However, there are still few attempts to prospectively, and comprehensively, assess research impact.

Strengthening implementation of diet-related non-communicable disease prevention strategies in Fiji: a qualitative policy landscape analysis.

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a comprehensive policy package for their prevention and control. However, implementing robust, best-practice policies remains a global challenge. In Fiji, despite political commitment to reducing the health and economic costs of NCDs, prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease remain the highest in the region.

The tide of dietary risks for noncommunicable diseases in Pacific Islands: an analysis of population NCD surveys.

Objective: To describe changes over time in dietary risk factor prevalence and non-communicable disease in Pacific Island Countries (PICTs).

Methods: Secondary analysis of data from 21,433 adults aged 25-69, who participated in nationally representative World Health Organization STEPs surveys in 8 Pacific Island Countries and Territories between 2002 and 2019. Outcomes of interest were changes in consumption of fruit and vegetables, hypertension, overweight and obesity, and hypercholesterolaemia over time.

Scaling-up food policies in the Pacific Islands: protocol for policy engagement and mixed methods evaluation of intervention implementation.

Background: There is a crisis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Pacific Islands, and poor diets are a major contributor. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis will likely further exacerbate the burden on food systems. Pacific Island leaders have adopted a range of food policies and regulations to improve diets.

The nutrition transition, food retail transformations, and policy responses to overnutrition in the East Asia region: A descriptive review.

Background: The East Asia region is facing an increasing burden of overweight, obesity and related noncommunicable diseases, resulting from an ongoing nutrition transition. This study aimed to document the growing burden of overweight and obesity, and the accompanying dietary shifts, in the East Asia region and describe the policy responses to this.

Methods: We present noncommunicable disease risk factor collaboration data on trends in the burden of malnutrition, and Euromonitor International data on trends in dietary purchases, in the East Asia region.

A Proposed Research Agenda for Promoting Healthy Retail Food Environments in the East Asia-Pacific Region.

Purpose Of Review: This paper aimed to summarise existing literature on strategies to improve the healthiness of retail food environments in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, and propose a prioritised research agenda on this topic.

Recent Findings: Little research on retail food environments has been conducted in the EAP region. Several approaches for measuring retail food environments were identified, although none have been tailored to the EAP context.

Policy-makers' perspectives on implementation of cross-sectoral nutrition policies, Western Pacific Region.

Implementation of effective cross-sectoral nutrition policies remains a challenge worldwide. By reviewing reports from World Health Organization meetings and consultations - convened for policy-makers representing Member States of the Western Pacific Region - we provide an insight into how national policy-makers and external actors can support different dimensions of nutrition policy implementation. Key insights of policy-makers attending food and nutrition-centred meetings include that country-level implementation of nutrition policy relies on strong policy design, organizational planning and governance mechanisms that promote collective responsibility across multiple sectors.

Benchmarking for accountability on obesity prevention: evaluation of the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) in Australia (2016-2020).

Objective: Despite broad agreement on the need for comprehensive policy action to improve the healthiness of food environments, implementation of recommended policies has been slow and fragmented. Benchmarking is increasingly being used to strengthen accountability for action. However, there have been few evaluations of benchmarking and accountability initiatives to understand their contribution to policy change.

Action-oriented prospective policy analysis to inform the adoption of a fiscal policy to reduce diet-related disease in the Solomon Islands.

Fiscal tools are recommended as a part of a comprehensive approach to diet-related disease prevention, however, widespread adoption has been hampered by political and economic resistance. The aim of this study was to support an advocacy coalition in the Solomon Islands with evidence-based consideration of the development and implementation of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), sensitive to local contextual factors and constraints. In 2017-19, we conducted a prospective policy analysis, including document analysis and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders to elicit policy-relevant data, a quantitative analysis to frame the policy problem and examine appropriate implementation mechanisms, and economic modelling to outline the potential benefits associated with different proposed policy solutions.

Identifying opportunities to strengthen school food environments in the Pacific: a case study in Samoa.

Background: Despite global recommendations to prioritise policies that create healthy food environments within education institutions, the implementation of effective healthy school food policies has proved challenging for many countries. This study examined the experience of Samoa subsequent to the 2012 introduction of a stronger policy to improve the healthiness of school food environments. Our aim was to identify opportunities to strengthen healthy school food policy implementation in Samoa and other comparable contexts.

Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia.

Unlabelled: CHAPTER 1: RETAIL INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE THE HEALTHINESS OF FOOD ENVIRONMENTS IN RURAL, REGIONAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES: Objective: To synthesise the evidence for effectiveness of initiatives aimed at improving food retail environments and consumer dietary behaviour in rural, regional and remote populations in Australia and comparable countries, and to discuss the implications for future food environment initiatives for rural, regional and remote areas of Australia.

Study Design: Rapid review of articles published between January 2000 and May 2020.

Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE (EBSCOhost), Health and Society Database (Informit) and Rural and Remote Health Database (Informit), and included studies undertaken in rural food environment settings in Australia and other countries.

National nutrition policy in high-income countries: is health equity on the agenda?

Objective: Equity-oriented policy actions are a key public health principle. In this study, how equity and socioeconomic inequalities are represented in policy problematizations of population nutrition were examined.

Data Sources: We retrieved a purposive sample of government nutrition-policy documents (n = 18) from high-income nations.