Fact sheet describing how front-of-package (FOP) labels can help consumers make informed, healthier choices and encourage industry to improve the nutritional profile of their products and portfolios. Learn about the evidence for different FOP labels, what types of labels are in use around the world today, and key elements to consider when developing and implementing an effective FOP labelling policy.
Fact Sheets
Our fact sheets summarize scientific evidence on key policy and regulatory interventions to improve nutrition and public health. This includes experimental and real-world evidence from evaluations where policies have been implemented, with an effort to include research from around the globe. We designed these fact sheets to provide scholars, policymakers, advocates, journalists, and others with up-to-date information on key topics essential to regulatory efforts.
We update these resources periodically to reflect the latest evidence. Please contact us if you have questions or contributions regarding a particular fact sheet.
Learn about the connections between excess sugar consumption and prevalence of obesity and other noncommunicable diseases, as well as real-world evidence for how sugary drink taxes can reduce sugar intake, improve health, and increase government revenue while decreasing health care costs and the personal and shared burdens of nutrition-related diseases.
Fact sheet describing the prevalence and persuasive nature of junk food marketing and its impact on children and adolescents. Learn how unhealthy food marketing contributes to global childhood obesity and about recommendations for regulations to limit its harms.
Updated May 2022
Fact sheet describing ultra-processed foods and drinks and the threat they pose to public health worldwide as they make up increasingly greater portions of the global diet. Learn how to identify ultra-processed products; review the evidence for their association with a multitude of risk factors, diseases, and mortality; and explore policy options to reduce consumption.
Updated November 2023 (May 2021 version available in Spanish and Portuguese)
Fact sheet describing food and beverage industry voluntary self-regulation in three main areas of public health concern: 1) Child-directed food marketing; 2) front-of-package labelling; and 3) reducing unhealthy nutrients in the food supply. While self-regulation continues to be the most common approach globally for addressing industry’s role in the ongoing obesity crisis, this fact sheet details a large body of independent evidence demonstrating that these measures have been ineffective and insufficient.
Updated July 2020
Fact sheet describing the impact of unhealthy school food environments on childhood obesity and wellness. Learn about policies that can improve the school food environment, including restricting access to unhealthy foods, protecting kids from food industry marketing, and emphasizing the nutritional standards schoolchildren need to grow, develop, and succeed at school and beyond the school grounds.
Updated September 2018