Healthy Menu Choices Act Case Study

In am writing in response to the Ontario Healthy Menu Choices Act that has become effective January 1, 2017. I would like to address some key concerns of whether this intervention will likely succeed in Toronto. In this letter, I will compare the pros and cons of the new regulations from both a behaviourlist and a social determinants of health perspective. The new legislation of requiring “restaurant chains” to provide customers with specific calorie information should be praised for providing consumers with the opportunity to make informed decision. This initiative provides a small step in decreasing rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and other related disease. To successfully decrease rates of these diseases in the population as a whole,

Research has shown that economic and other social factors are better predictor of health than individual behaviours or lifestyles (2). According to the McKeown hypothesis, many major improvements in population health was due to improving economic conditions (ie. improved nutrition, sanitation and social policies). Important determinants of health are upstream, such as those related to economic and social resources that promote living and working conditions, which result in healthy choices. These upstream determinants are mainly established through national economic, political and social welfare systems. Addressing obesity through regulations through a macro, top-down approach, such as law enforcement, is an effective way to make population changes. An important question to ask is: will this new policy help those who are at high risk of obesity-related diseases? The group of people associated with increased odds of obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes and dislipidaemia are those of a lower social economic position (SEP)(3). Studies have shown that when it comes to purchasing fast foods, calorie labeling benefits higher social economic position neighbour hoods significantly more than lower SEP neighbourhoods (4). People in lower SEP may not prioritize calories when they are making choices on a menu. They are looking to get the most out of their dollar. Therefore, calorie labeling may help those of higher SEP, who have the privilege to make informed decisions about their health. However, calorie labeling may not be as beneficial to those of lower SEP who are at greatest risk of obesity related