Effectiveness of existing policies for lifestyle interventions - Policy Evaluation Network (PEN) - OsloMet Food and Nutrition Policy (FNP)

The OsloMet Food and Nutrition Policy (OsloMet FNP) group, which represents the two OsloMet institutes Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) and Public Health Nutrition at the Department of Nursing and Health Promotion (PHN), participated in 2019-2022 in the European multi-disciplinary research network "Effectiveness of existing policies for lifestyle interventions - Policy Evaluation Network" (PEN) (https://www.jpi-pen.eu/). PEN included researchers from 28 institutes in seven European countries and New Zealand. PEN is part of the Joint Programming Initiative on a Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (JPI HDHL). The aim of PEN is to build capacity and to evaluate policy interventions regarding their level of impact on dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours at population level. PEN is structured around six research work packages: Policy mapping and EPI (Environment Policy Index) development (WP1); Monitoring and surveillance (WP2); Estimation and simulation of policy impact and their economic evaluation (WP3); Policy implementation evaluation (WP4); Equity and diversity of policies (WP5); and Policy in practice - selected case studies (WP6). PEN will build capacity, evaluate policy interventions, assess variations of the effectiveness of interventions and give recommendations. The overall purpose is to help strengthen efforts to prevent overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases in the population. The OsloMet FNP group has participated in the following PEN activities: A) to implement the Food EPI (Food Environment Policy Index) in Norway; and B) to deliver recommendations to ensure that social differences and ethnic diversity are considered in policy. Food-EPI will contribute to making the authorities responsible through monitoring and comparing policies between countries, and within countries over time. Food EPI was conducted in 2020 in Norway. An expert panel assessed Norwegian policy against international good practice when it comes to creating a healthier food environment. The Food-EPI tool has two components: policies and infrastructure support. The policy domains are: 1) Food composition, 2) Food labelling, 3) Food promotion, 4) Food prices, 5) Food provision, and 6) Food retail. The infrastructure support domains are: 1) Leadership, 2) Governance, 3) Monitoring & intelligence, 4) Funding & resources, 5) Platform for interaction, and 6) Health i all polcies. The results from the assessment show that the authorities are performing best when it comes to food labeling, while there is room for improvement in several other policy areas. As the next step in the Food-EPI process, the experts came up with a set of prioritized, recommended measures. 25 measures were recommended: 14 within the policy areas and 11 within the infrastructure areas. Within the policy domains the expert panel recommended the Norwegian authorities to: 1) Actively use price instruments to shift consumption to the foods the population should eat more of, 2) Step up efforts to create healthy food environments and make healthy choices easy in public contexts. 3) Mandate all municipalities to offer a school meal, 4) Demand results in the work on the agreement of intent to achieve the goals in the agreement and make groceries healthier, and 5) Introduce a legal regulation of the marketing of unhealthy food and drink aimed at children. Within infrastructure support the expert panel recommended the Norwegian authorities to: 1) Show clear, knowledge-based and coordinated political leadership in public health and nutrition policy, 2) Ensure that there is access to qualified nutrition and dietary expertise in the public sector, 3) Ensure that work on nutrition in public health work is strengthened and that "health in all we do" is implemented at all levels, 4) Introduce better monitoring of compliance with guidelines for food in kindergartens, schools and SFO, and 5) Ensure long-term financing of effective, preventive nutrition and public health work in counties and municipalities. The Norwegian Food-EPI 2020 can be used as a basis for comparison in future Food-EPI projects to show the extent to which the Norwegian authorities have strengthened their efforts. Oslomet FNP has also been involved in the development of PEN recommendations that include social inequality and diversity in planning, mapping, monitoring, implementation and evaluation of policies to promote healthy eating. It is recommended to identify different needs and to include target groups and PEN results show that a systems perspective can contribute to the development of effective policy.

OsloMet FNP har vært en del av et nettverk som har samlet mer enn 60 forskere fra syv europeiske land og New Zealand. Forskere i PEN har samarbeidet nasjonalt og transnasjonalt for å bygge kapasitet og utvikle en systematisk og robust tilnærming til policy-evaluering innen kosthold, fysisk aktivitet og stillesittende atferd. Resultater - bl.a. publikasjoner, presentasjoner, rapporter og faktaark - er tilgjengelige på https://www.jpi-pen.eu/. Food-EPI i Norge ble utført 2020 og har vært en del av EUs benchmarking av politikk og innsats for å bedre matomgivelser på nasjonalt nivå. Food-EPI har blitt gjort tilgjengelig for forskning og beslutningstakere. Bl.a. det norske Food-EPI ble presentert som poster på Nordic Nutrition Conference 2020 og en artikkel har blitt sendt inn til Scandinavian Journal of Food & Nutrition Research. Norske partnere i PEN i samarbeid med Folkehelseinstituttet inviterte forskere og aktører som implementerer politikktiltak til en workshop om evaluering av politikk for å fremme et sunt og variert kosthold i befolkningen (16. September 2022 på OsloMet). Workshopen gav en oversikt over PEN prosjektet følgt av gruppediskusjoner om utforrdringer og muligheter i evaluering av politikktiltak i Norge i dag. PEN har produsert, formidlet og publisert kunnskap om hvordan og hvorfor politikk har en forskjellig innvirkning på lavere sosioøkonomiske grupper og har gitt anbefalinger til potensielle løsninger for politikk (med fokus på matomgivelser) som gir maksimal effekt blant lavere sosioøkonomiske grupper.

The OsloMet Food and Nutrition Policy (OsloMet FNP) group, which represents the two institutes Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) and Public Health Nutrition at the Department of Nursing and Health Promotion (PHN), participates in the European multi-disciplinary research network "Effectiveness of existing policies for lifestyle interventions - Policy Evaluation Network" (PEN). PEN is part of the Joint Programming Initiative on a Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (JPI HDHL). The aim of PEN is to build capacity and to evaluate policy interventions regarding their level of impact on dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours at population level. PEN is structured around six research work packages: WP1 Policy mapping and EPI (Environment Policy Index) Development; WP2 Monitoring and surveillance; WP3 Estimation and simulation of policy impact and their economic evaluation; WP4 Policy implementation evaluation; WP5 Equity and diversity of policies; WP6 Policy in practice - selected case studies. The aim of OsloMet FNP groups is to mainly participate in the following PEN activities: adapt. test and implement Food-EPI (Food Environment Policy Index) (WP1) and deliver a set of recommendations for an equity and diversity perpective in policies (WP5). PEN will build capacity, evaluate policy interventions, assess variations of the effectiveness of interventions and give recommendations. The main output of OsloMet FNP activities in PEN will be to conduct a Food-EPI audit in Norway and to lead the development of recommendations for equity and diversity perspectives in policies aimed at changing diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviours across Europe.