In current food environments, energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods are readily available, heavily marketed and relatively cheap. Consumers are challenged to make healthy and affordable food-related decisions that are consistent with a healthy diet. Affordability of food is a key determinant of the food environment and changes in price influence consumer demand for many foods and beverages. Fiscal measures, including both taxation and subsidies have long been recognized as a viable policy option to promote healthy diets. Despite some progress in implementing fiscal measures, governments continue to face challenges in their attempts to develop such measures.
This WHO guideline provides Member States with recommendations and implementation considerations on fiscal policies to promote healthy diets, including on food and beverage taxation, and on food subsidies that have the primary intention to change consumer behaviour by lowering prices of targeted products at retail level.
Background
Unhealthy diets are a leading global public health risk, contributing to all forms of malnutrition (i.e. undernutrition; micronutrient-related malnutrition; and overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)). Affordability of food and beverages (which is a function of food and beverage price and disposable income) is a key characteristic of the food environment and is well established as an important influence on food and beverage purchases and consumption. The inverse relationship between food and beverage prices and purchases and consumption indicates that taxes can reduce, and subsidies can increase, consumption of targeted products. Accordingly, implementing fiscal policies that discourage consumption of foods that do not contribute to a healthy diet and/or encourage consumption of foods that contribute to a healthy diet has been proposed in various documents adopted by the World Health Assembly, including the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health; the Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition; and the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020.
Suggested citation. Fiscal policies to promote healthy diets: WHO guideline. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024.
Source: World Health Organisation. Access the Guideline here.
