Research
Adherence
Population-level economic incentives, specifically subsidies for healthful foods and taxes on less healthful foods/beverages, are effective strategies to improve dietary habits.
Support or advocate for local policies that subsidize fresh produce and impose taxes on sugary drinks or high-fat processed foods. These economic levers are among the most evidence-based ways to shift population diet quality.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Subsidy strategies to lower prices of more healthful foods and beverages (I A)† ... Tax strategies to increase prices of less healthful foods or beverages (IIa B)†
Why this rating
Class I/IIa recommendation with Level A/B evidence indicates strong, consistent findings from quasi-experimental studies.
Source
Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits
Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · Circulation · 2012
DOI 10.1161/cir.0b013e318260a20b
systematic_reviewCited 604×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Media and educational campaigns, particularly when sustained and focused on specific healthful foods, effectively increase consumption of those foods.Good
- Restrictions on tobacco advertising and marketing, including bans on advertisements to children and near schools, effectively reduce tobacco use.Good
- Multicomponent interventions in schools and workplaces, combining education, policy, and environmental changes, are effective in improving diet and physical activity.Good
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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