INFORMAS Europe is a European network of research groups measuring food environments, investigating the impact of food environments and related policies on health and assessing the implementation of recommended food environment policies by the main actors to increase accountability for action.

The specific objectives of the network are:

  • Collect, collate and analyze data on public and private sector policies and actions, food environments, population diets, obesity and NCDs
  • Compare and communicate the progress on improving food environments against best practice benchmarks, between countries and over time
  • Use the results to strengthen public health efforts, particularly by supporting the translation of relevant evidence into public and private sector actions.

What is INFORMAS?

INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity / Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support) is a global network of public-interest organisations and researchers that aims to monitor, benchmark and support public and private sector actions to increase healthy food environments and reduce obesity and NCDs and their related inequalities.

The INFORMAS framework consists of two ‘process’ modules that monitor the policies and actions of the public and private sectors, and seven ‘impact’ modules that monitor the key characteristics of food environments. Monitoring frameworks and indicators have been developed for the modules to provide consistent data collection and analysis.

What are food environments?

Unhealthy diets and excess energy intake are modifiable factors that contribute to disease and disability in Europe. One of the main factors contributing to unhealthy diets is unhealthy food environments, defined as the collective physical, economic,  policy and sociocultural surroundings, opportunities and conditions that influence people’s food and beverage choices and nutritional status.

Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)

Food-EPI is a tool and process to assess the extent of implementation of recommended food environment policies by national governments compared with international best practices and to derive priority actions to fill implementation gaps.

Go to the Food-EPI tool

Business Impact Assessment on Obesity and Population Nutrition (BIA-Obesity)

BIA-Obesity is a tool and process to measure the commitments, performance and disclosure practices of the major food companies at the national level.

Go to the BIA-Obesity tool

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