Neighbourhoods and healthy nutrition

Abstract

For a number of years, there has been interest in understanding how to successfully promote healthy nutrition in different population groups and whether and how place and income affect nutritional attitudes and behaviour. This interest reflects continuing debate as to whether health, health inequalities and health-related behaviours are determined by individual characteristics and behaviour or through health-promoting or health-damaging features of the physical and social environment. This chapter provides an overview of research regarding area effects on food choices and nutrition. It reviews evidence regarding income-related and environmental influences on nutrition and explores the potential and limitations of fiscal, regulatory and healthy public policy drawing on learning from local evaluations of the impact of school-based policies and legislation on pupils' attitudes and behaviour in relation to healthy eating.