Stakeholder views on policy options for responding to the growing challenge from obesity in France: findings from the PorGrow project

To explore the perspectives of key stakeholders towards a range of policy options to prevent obesity in France, a multi-criteria mapping method was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 21 types of stakeholder groups. During structured interviews, stakeholders appraised a set of pre-defined options by reference to criteria of their own choosing and provided relative weights to their criteria, and overall rankings of the policy options. Efficacy, feasibility and societal benefits were the groups of criteria given most importance by stakeholders. There was most consensus and preference for options related to health education, particularly in schools, compared with options that aimed at changing the environment to prevent obesity, i.e. options around physical activity; options that modified food supply and demand; and information-related options. There was little support for technological solutions or institutional reforms. While there was broad interest in a range of different options, those related to behaviour change through education were the most valued by stakeholders. Raising awareness among policymakers about the convincing scientific evidence for the effectiveness of environmental level policy options will be a crucial first step.