Nutrition
Policymakers & government officials
What people eat has a major influence on their health. Nutrition is therefore a key determinant of health. Healthy diets can support wellbeing and help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other non-communicable diseases, while unhealthy diets are a major and widespread risk factor.1,4
But diets are not shaped by personal motivation alone. They are influenced by food environments, including what food is available, affordable, marketed, served in public settings and treated as normal in everyday life.
For policymakers, nutrition policy offers a major opportunity to create healthier and fairer food environments, reduce inequalities and make nutritious choices easier for everyone.
5g
maximum salt per day
recommended by WHO¹
400g
fruit and vegetables per day
at least 5 portions¹
42.5%
of all deaths in the WHO European Region
are caused by cardiovascular diseases²
Children
are exposed to unhealthy food marketing
especially online and in digital spaces¹,³
Healthy diets are shaped by food environments
People do not make food choices in isolation. Choices are shaped by price, availability, advertising, product formulation, portion sizes, school and workplace meals, shops, restaurants, vending machines and public procurement.
Prevention becomes harder when healthier food is more expensive, less available, less convenient or less visible than unhealthy alternatives.
This means nutrition policy should not rely only on individual education. It can shape the environments where choices are made every day.4,5
What makes prevention harder?
Nutrition advice is everywhere, but information alone is unlikely to be enough if everyday food environments do not support healthier choices.
Prevention becomes harder when:
- Healthier food is more expensive or less available
- Unhealthy products are cheap, visible and convenient
- Children are exposed to marketing of foods and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar
- Sugary drinks are widely promoted and easy to access
- Public settings do not provide healthy food and drink options
- Food labels are difficult to understand
- Portion sizes and package sizes encourage overconsumption
- People face financial, practical or time-related barriers to healthy eating
Healthier food choices become easier when the surrounding food environment supports them.
What policy can do
Policy can help create food environments where nutritious choices are easier, more affordable and more accessible.
Important policy levers include:
Healthier public food procurement
Food standards in schools and hospitals
Workplace and public institution food policies
Restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children
Clear front-of-package nutrition labelling
Reformulation to reduce salt, sugar and unhealthy fats
Taxes on sugary drinks
Support for breastfeeding and early-life nutrition
Access to affordable nutritious food
Effective actions for healthier food environments
Evidence-based nutrition policy can support healthier diets by improving the settings where food is bought, served, promoted and consumed.4,5 Some of these interventions can produce measurable public health effects within five years, often within a single political cycle.7
Use public food procurement
Public procurement can improve the quality of meals served in schools, hospitals, public buildings and other public settings.
Set food standards in public settings
Standards for schools, hospitals, workplaces and public institutions can make healthier food and drink options more available and visible.
Protect children from unhealthy marketing
Restrictions on marketing foods and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar can reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy promotion.
Improve food labelling
Clear front-of-package labels can help people understand food products more easily and support informed choices.7
Support reformulation
Reformulation policies can reduce salt, sugar, trans fats, saturated fats and other unhealthy ingredients in commonly consumed products.7
Use fiscal measures
Taxes on sugary drinks and other fiscal measures can help reduce consumption and encourage healthier choices.
Healthy food environments matter from early life
Children and young people are strongly influenced by the food environments around them, including schools, childcare, family settings, digital media, advertising and local food access.
Marketing of foods and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar can shape preferences and habits from an early age, especially as children and teenagers spend more time on social media and mobile apps.
Policy can protect children from unhealthy marketing and support healthier food settings in schools, childcare, healthcare and communities.
Commercial environments shape what people eat
Nutrition is strongly shaped by commercial environments. Product formulation, portion sizes, pricing, placement, advertising, sponsorship and digital marketing all influence what people buy and consume.
This is especially important for foods and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar, and for products marketed to children and young people.
A strong prevention approach should consider how commercial interests shape food environments and public debate. Policymakers can help ensure that health evidence, transparency and the public interest guide food policy.6
Healthy eating should be possible for everyone
Nutrition policy should reduce inequalities, not increase blame or stigma. People do not all have the same access to affordable, nutritious and convenient food.
A policy that works well for higher-income groups may not be enough for people facing greater financial or practical barriers.
A fair approach improves food environments while also supporting communities where healthy options are less available, less affordable or harder to access.
Questions for policymakers
An equity-focused approach looks at who has access to affordable nutritious food, who is most exposed to unhealthy marketing, and who may need additional support to benefit from nutrition policies.
A strong prevention approach asks:
- Who has access to affordable nutritious food?
- Are healthy options available in schools, workplaces and public institutions?
- Are children and young people protected from unhealthy food marketing?
- Are healthier foods visible and easy to choose in public settings?
- Could a policy unintentionally increase costs for groups already under pressure?
- What additional support is needed for communities facing greater barriers?
- Are policies reducing harm without increasing blame or stigma?
Nutrition policy should make healthier choices easier, fairer and more accessible for everyone.
Practical starting points for policymakers
Public institutions and decision-makers can begin by reviewing the food environments they influence directly.
Examples include:
- Improve food and drink standards in schools, hospitals and public buildings
- Make water freely available and visible in public settings
- Review vending machines and catering contracts
- Use public procurement to support healthier food
- Restrict marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks to children
- Support access to affordable nutritious food in underserved communities
- Introduce or strengthen clear front-of-package nutrition labelling
- Support reformulation to reduce salt, sugar and unhealthy fats
- Consider taxes on sugary drinks
- Protect, promote and support breastfeeding through healthcare services and public policies
- Use evidence-based communication and media campaigns to support healthier diets.7
Nutrition policy can help make healthier food easier, fairer and more accessible. By improving food environments, policymakers can support better health, reduce inequalities and help prevent cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other non-communicable diseases.1,4,5
Explore the prevention areas
Evidence and further reading
The statistics and recommendations on this page are based on evidence and guidance from trusted public health organisations.
- Nutrition for a healthy life
WHO Regional Office for Europe - Cardiovascular diseases
WHO Regional Office for Europe - Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing
World Health Organization - European Code Against Cancer, fifth edition
International Agency for Research on Cancer and World Health Organization (IARC/WHO) - Tackling NCDs: Best Buys and other recommended interventions, second edition
World Health Organization - Commercial Determinants of Noncommunicable Diseases in the WHO European Region
WHO Regional Office for Europe - Quick Buys for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases
Galea et al., The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2025)
