How important are educational interventions at improving dietary health?

The narrative that individuals are responsible for the choices they make forms a large part of the political and media messaging on dietary health.

This briefing shows the reality is far more complex, and although education has a part to play in any interventions that aim to improve health and reduce obesity, behaviour is influenced by a wide variety of factors with many of these outside of an individual's control.

Over the past 30 years in England, 14 Government strategies and nearly 700 policies have attempted to reduce levels of obesity and failed.

What is needed instead are policy interventions to change the social and commercial environment that people live in, to make healthy and sustainable behaviour changes easier.