Evaluation and prioritization of food environment policies in Türkiye using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)

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dc.contributor.authorKaner, Gulsah
dc.contributor.authorYalçın, Tuba
dc.contributor.authorYurtdaş-Depboylu, Gamze
dc.contributor.authorDönmez, Büşra
dc.contributor.authorBayar, Esila
dc.contributor.authorKip, Merve
dc.contributor.authorHarrington, Janas M.
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-09T13:50:02Z
dc.date.available2026-07-09T13:50:02Z
dc.date.issued2026-04-18
dc.description.abstractBackground: Türkiye is facing an alarming rise in diet-related non-communicable diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Tackling this issue demands a more proactive policy approach that fosters healthier food environments and supports long-term dietary improvements. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation level of government policies aimed at creating healthy food environments in Türkiye, using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI), an internationally recognized framework for assessing implementation levels of food environment policies and comparing them to international best practices. Method: The Food-EPI process in Türkiye was conducted in five main stages between May 2024 and June 2025. The policy and infrastructure support indicators were adapted to the national context, and evidence on national policies and international benchmarks was compiled. A panel of 38 national experts assessed policy implementation through structured evidence review and workshops to identify gaps. In total, 45 policy actions and 50 infrastructure support actions were initially identified, of which 26 policy actions and 28 infrastructure support actions were selected for prioritisation. Results: Across all assessed domains, none of the food policy or infrastructure support indicators in Türkiye reached a “high” level of implementation, with half of the policy indicators (50%) and more than half of the infrastructure support indicators (54%) assessed as having a “low” level of implementation. The top two highest-ranked policy actions identified through the weighted prioritisation process were: (1) reducing taxes on healthy and staple foods and (2) supporting healthy, local, and minimally processed food systems through agricultural policies and direct-to-consumer sales. The top two highest-ranked infrastructure support actions were: (1) increasing dietitian employment in primary care to enhance nutrition monitoring and (2) establishing systems to monitor children’s growth, nutritional status, and physical fitness. Conclusion: Türkiye shows weak implementation across key domains of food environment policy. Experts prioritized actions targeting fiscal measures, agricultural systems, food marketing regulation, product reformulation, and strengthened nutrition monitoring and political commitment. Together, these prioritized actions provide a structured, evidence-informed roadmap to strengthen Türkiye’s food policy environment and support progress toward healthier food systems.en
dc.description.sponsorshipScientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye|223N180
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent14
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid1752
dc.identifier.authororcidKaner, Gulsah
dc.identifier.authororcidYalçın, Tuba
dc.identifier.authororcidYurtdaş-Depboylu, Gamze
dc.identifier.authororcidDönmez, Büşra
dc.identifier.authororcidBayar, Esila
dc.identifier.authororcidKip, Merve
dc.identifier.authororcidHarrington, Janas M.§0000-0002-6238-7031
dc.identifier.citationKaner, G, Yalçın, T, Yurtdaş-Depboylu, G, Dönmez, B, Bayar, E, Kip, M & Harrington, J M 2026, 'Evaluation and prioritization of food environment policies in Türkiye using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)', BMC Public Health, vol. 26, no. 1, 1752, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-27312-5
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s12889-026-27312-5
dc.identifier.endpage14
dc.identifier.issn1471-2458
dc.identifier.issued1
dc.identifier.journaltitleBMC Public Health
dc.identifier.startpage1
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/19040
dc.identifier.volume26
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd
dc.relation.urihttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105040653678
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it.
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectFood policy
dc.subjectFood-EPI
dc.subjectHealthy food environment
dc.subjectHealthy food environment policy index
dc.subject[PublicHealth]
dc.titleEvaluation and prioritization of food environment policies in Türkiye using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)en
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
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