Nation Cymru staff
A new survey from Public Health Wales shows strong support among people in Wales for making healthier food and drink the default option – promoting healthier options, while putting less focus on less healthy choices.
More than three quarters of people in Wales (77 per cent) support making advertising, special offers and price promotions on healthier food and drink the default approach; 16 per cent are indifferent, and 6 per cent oppose. Support remains high (72 per cent) even if it means fewer price promotions, special offers or advertising for unhealthy food and drink; 18 per cent are indifferent and 8 per cent oppose.
‘Healthy by default’ means making healthier food and drink easier to find, buy and choose in everyday places such as schools, hospitals, cafés, leisure centres and transport hubs. This could mean providing more options that are lower in calories, fat, sugar and salt, offering healthier portion sizes, and making healthier, non-sugary drinks and accompaniments the standard options offered with meals.
Overall, 81 per cent of people support making healthier food and drink the default option in publicly funded places, with even stronger support for some settings. More than 90 per cent think healthier options should be the default in schools, childcare settings, and hospitals, and more than 80 per cent support this approach in other healthcare settings and leisure centres, sports facilities and swimming pools.
There was also strong support for making healthier food and drink the focus of advertising, special offers and price promotions. At least 80 per cent supported this for schools, colleges and universities; childcare settings; hospitals and other healthcare settings; and leisure centres, sports facilities and swimming pools.
Alongside increasing the availability and promotion of healthier options, providing clear nutritional information can help people make informed choices when eating away from home.
Most people think nutritional information should be made available for food and drink prepared outside the home. For food, 70 per cent think it should always be available and 24 per cent think it should be available on request. For drinks, 66 per cent think nutritional information should always be available and 27 per cent think it should be available on request.
The findings came from the most recent Time to Talk Public Health survey, a national panel of adults aged 16 years and over, living across Wales which is broadly representative of the population in terms of age, sex, deprivation, ethnicity and health board. It supports other surveys which demonstrate that people in Wales want it to be easier for them to access healthier food when eating out of home.
Dr Ilona Johnson, Consultant in Public Health for Public Health Wales, said: “This study shows that people in Wales want it to be easier to make healthier choices when they are eating away from home. Making a healthy choice shouldn’t be difficult, particularly in the public places and services we all use. These settings have an important role to play in making healthier choices easy to find, understand and choose.”
Steve Adie, Head of Standards Policy at the Food Standards Agency in Wales, said: “These findings show that people in Wales want clear information to help them make informed choices about the food they buy and eat away from home.
“While decisions about the food offered sit with businesses and public bodies, clear, accurate and accessible labelling has an important role to play in helping consumers understand their options and choose what is right for them.”
The survey can be found here.
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