- Title
- Law and the promotion of healthy nutrition and physical activity
- Creator
- Ries, Nola M.; von Tigerstrom, Barbara
- Relation
- Public Health Law and Policy in Canada p. 439-489
- Relation
- http://store.lexisnexis.ca/store/ca/catalog/booktemplate/productdetail.jsp?prodId=prd-cad-00698#
- Publisher
- LexisNexis Canada
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- This chapter examines the use of legal tools to promote healthier behaviours and environments for nutrition and physical activity. It begins with an overview of the role of regulation in public health and discusses justifications for legislative intervention to address health risks and problems. Arguments about the appropriate role of the state in regulating areas - food choices, physical activity, and body weight - that some consider a matter of personal responsibility are briefly considered, along with questions about the evidence needed to support regulatory strategies. The main focus of the chapter is on interventions to promote healthier nutrition as this is where the most regulatory activity has occurred. Humans need food to survive but, increasingly, an overabundance of food, especially food that is calorie-dense and nutrient-poor, is contributing to conditions that have a negative impact on health and may even contribute to declining life expectancy. Legislators in many jurisdictions are enacting laws to influence or control consumer food choices and food industry practices. These include rules and restrictions on food labeling, advertising, ingredients and access. Litigation against food manufacturers or retailers is briefly discussed as a private enforcement strategy to improve the food environment. The chapter also discusses examples of regulatory interventions that focus on promoting physical activity, such as tax credits for sports participation and urban planning measures to encourage walking and cycling.
- Subject
- nutrition; physical activity; legal responses
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1058238
- Identifier
- uon:16367
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780433470397
- Language
- eng
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