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. 2020 Mar 17:368:m545.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.m545.

What role should the commercial food system play in promoting health through better diet?

Martin White  1 , Emilie Aguirre  2   3 , Diane T Finegood  4 , Chris Holmes  5 , Gary Sacks  6 , Richard Smith  7
Affiliations

What role should the commercial food system play in promoting health through better diet?

Martin White et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Martin White and coauthors consider that the commercial food system has the potential to show leadership and support for dietary public health, but systemic change is needed first and this is likely to require governmental action

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare the following interests: MW is funded as a scientist in the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. CEDAR is a UK clinical research collaboration, public health research centre of excellence, which received funding from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), and Wellcome Trust. MW is also funded by NIHR as director of its public health research funding programme. MW, with RS, holds a research grant from NIHR to evaluate the UK soft drinks industry levy; a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to fund the International Food Policy Study; and has held a grant from MRC to develop consensus on the governance of relationships between public health scientists and the food industry. MW is an expert adviser to the Food Foundation and the House of Lords Committee on Food, Poverty Health and the Environment; and a member of the Obesity Health Alliance, Independent Obesity Strategy working group. Between 2008 and 2011, DTF received funds from government, non-profits and the private sector to organise three meetings on building trust to examine the epidemic of obesity. CH receives no income from the commercial sector. In the period 1990-2005, CH was employed, with Nestle and Mondelez, in various commercial roles in the UK and mainland Europe. Since 2005, CH has been studying childhood obesity in various positions across government and the charitable sector. GS reports grants from the Australian Research Council, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia); and GS recently conducted a study to benchmark the nutrition related policies of major food and beverage companies in Australia. GS is a researcher involved in a NHMRC-funded trial of healthy supermarket interventions in partnership with IGA (supermarket retailer), City of Greater Bendigo and VicHealth.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
The commercial processed food system, influences on human health, and external costs to society (NCDs=non-communicable diseases)
Fig 2
Fig 2
Goals, actions, and alignment of the commercial food system and public health
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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