title: Obesity prevention at the point of purchase.
abstract: The point of purchase is when people may make poor and impulsive decisions about what and how much to buy and consume. Because point of purchase strategies frequently work through non-cognitive processes, people are often unable to recognize and resist them. Because people lack insight into how marketing practices interfere with their ability to routinely eat healthy, balanced diets, public health entities should protect consumers from potentially harmful point of purchase strategies. We describe four point of purchase policy options including standardized portion sizes; standards for meals that are sold as a bundle, e.g. 'combo meals'; placement and marketing restrictions on highly processed low-nutrient foods; and explicit warning labels. Adoption of such policies could contribute significantly to the prevention of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. We also discuss how the policies could be implemented, along with who might favour or oppose them. Many of the policies can be implemented locally, while preserving consumer choice.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, USA.
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Lesser
mesh_terms: D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: Impulse buying; marketing; obesity; point of purchase