Volume 16, Issue 3 e70019
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Participatory Experience of Local Policy Making to Transform Food Environments: The Case of Two Municipalities in Santiago, Chile, 2023

Daniel Egaña

Daniel Egaña

Department of Primary Care and Family Health, College of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Search for more papers by this author
Patricia Gálvez

Patricia Gálvez

Department of Nutrition, College of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Search for more papers by this author
Rodrigo Villegas

Rodrigo Villegas

School of Public Health, College of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Search for more papers by this author
Paulina Molina

Paulina Molina

Department of Nutrition, College of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Search for more papers by this author
Sofía Bustos

Sofía Bustos

Corporación Actuemos, Santiago, Chile

Search for more papers by this author
Lorena Rodríguez-Osiac

Corresponding Author

Lorena Rodríguez-Osiac

School of Public Health, College of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Correspondence: Lorena Rodríguez-Osiac ([email protected])

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 17 July 2025

ABSTRACT

en

Several studies indicate that characteristics of food environments affect eating behavior. The transformation of food environments depends on their regulation, and participatory bodies can provide greater relevance and legitimacy to these regulations. This article presents the results of the final phase of the study “Assessing food environments at home: a contribution to local policies.” Local stakeholders in two Chilean communes constructed the recommendations; inputs for the construction of the proposals come from previous phases, (1) adaptation and validation of the Perceived Nutritional Environment Measurement Survey (NEMS-P-Ch) and (2) application of NEMS-P-Ch in households in high and low socioeconomic sectors, and comparison of results. After conducting two workshops and two discussions, a matrix of public policy recommendations was constructed to improve food environments. The results show that the population is aware of the issue, that they are clear about the solutions to the problems that affect them, and that what was proposed requires political will on the part of both local and national authorities. There is a clear need to transform food environments from the regulatory, normative, programmatic, and legislative point of view, as well as to strengthen people's capacities and skills to manage their health.

摘要

zh

多项研究表明, 粮食环境的特征会影响饮食行为。粮食环境的转型取决于对其的监管, 而参与式机构能为这些监管提供更大的相关性和合法性。本文介绍了题为《评估家庭粮食环境:对地方政策的贡献》的研究的最后阶段结果。两个智利公社的当地利益攸关方制定了一系列建议;这些建议的制定源自前几个阶段:(1)“感知营养环境测量调查”(NEMS-P-Ch)的调整和验证;(2)在高社会经济阶层和低社会经济阶层家庭中应用NEMS-P-Ch并进行比较。在举办了两次研讨会和两次讨论后, 我们构建了一个公共政策建议矩阵, 以改善粮食环境。结果表明, 民众已经意识到这这一问题, 他们清楚了解问题的解决方法, 并且这些建议需要地方和国家当局的政治意愿。显然, 有必要从监管、规范、项目和立法的角度来改变粮食环境, 并增强人们管理自身健康的能力和技能。

Resumen

es

Varios estudios indican que las características de los entornos alimentarios afectan la conducta alimentaria. La transformación de los entornos alimentarios depende de su regulación, y los organismos participativos pueden otorgar mayor relevancia y legitimidad a estas regulaciones. Este artículo presenta los resultados de la fase final del estudio “Evaluación de entornos alimentarios en el hogar: una contribución a las políticas locales”. Los actores locales de dos comunas chilenas elaboraron las recomendaciones; los insumos para la elaboración de las propuestas provienen de las fases anteriores: (1) adaptación y validación de la Encuesta de Medición del Ambiente Nutricional Percibido (NEMS-P-Ch) y (2) aplicación de la NEMS-P-Ch en hogares de sectores socioeconómicos altos y bajos, y comparación de resultados. Tras dos talleres y dos debates, se elaboró una matriz de recomendaciones de políticas públicas para mejorar los entornos alimentarios. Los resultados muestran que la población es consciente del problema, tiene claras las soluciones a los problemas que la afectan y que lo propuesto requiere voluntad política por parte de las autoridades locales y nacionales. Existe una clara necesidad de transformar los entornos alimentarios desde el punto de vista regulatorio, normativo, programático y legislativo, así como de fortalecer las capacidades y habilidades de las personas para gestionar su salud.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.