12.20.13 A recent survey of California voters elicited their views about preventing obesity among children, encouraging healthful eating, and addressing mobile food vending near schools. Respondents strongly supported efforts to prevent childhood obesity and improve nutrition among children – including support for existing laws that help shape nutrition in California schools. The survey also revealed that a majority supports limiting mobile food vending near schools.
Key survey findings include:
- Eight in ten California voters feel it is extremely or very important to take steps to prevent obesity (81%) and improve nutrition (80%) among children.
- Most California voters feel that preventing obesity and improving nutrition for children are issues best dealt with by the entire community, including schools and government (60%), rather than being personal issues best addressed by children and families on their own (39%).
- California voters agree, by a ratio of more than three-to-one, that more needs to be done to limit the availability of unhealthy food around children (77% vs. 22%).
- Large majorities of voters feel that existing laws which set nutritional standards for food sold to children in schools (89%) and existing laws which limit the sale of unhealthy beverages like sodas to students at schools (84%) are good ideas.
- When they consider proposed legislation to limit mobile food vending within 500 feet of schools during certain hours of the day, two-thirds (67%) of California voters support the idea of limits.
Details about these and other findings can be found in the full report of the survey results. PDF
