Cognitive and environmental interventions to encourage healthy eating: evidence-based recommendations for public health policy

Walker, Lindsay A., Chambers, Christopher D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6058-4114, Veling, Harm and Lawrence, Natalia S. 2019. Cognitive and environmental interventions to encourage healthy eating: evidence-based recommendations for public health policy. Royal Society Open Science 6 (10) , 190624. 10.1098/rsos.190624

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Abstract

Policymakers are focused on reducing the public health burden of obesity. The UK average percentage of adults classified as obese is 26%, which is double that of the global average. Over a third of UK adults report using at least one weight management aid. Yet, many people still struggle to change their diet-related behaviour, despite having the awareness, intention and capability to do so. This ‘intention–behaviour gap’ may be because most existing dietary-choice interventions focus on individual decision-making, ignoring the effects of environmental cues on human behaviour. Behaviour change interventions that ‘nudge’ people into making healthier choices by modifying the food environment have been shown to be effective. However, this type of intervention is typically challenging for policymakers to implement for economic, ethical and public accessibility reasons. To overcome these concerns, policymakers should consider ‘boosting’ interventions. Boosting involves enhancing competences that help people make decisions consistent with their goals. Here, we outline cognitive training as a boosting intervention to tackle obesity. We synthesize the evidence for one type of cognitive training (go/no-go training) that may be effective at modifying food-related decisions and reducing body weight. We offer evidence-based recommendations for an obesity-focused Public Health Wales behaviour change programme.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)
Publisher:	Royal Society, The
ISSN:	2054-5703
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 October 2019
Date of Acceptance:	24 September 2019
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 16:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/126395

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