Influences of Public Health Policies on Individuals' Dietary Behaviours: A Large Cohort Study from Chile.

The Chilean law of food labeling and advertising was promulgated in 2012 and was implemented in consecutive phases until 2019. AIM: To determine the change in dietary behaviour experienced by the participants of a large Chilean cohort and to identify predictors of change. METHODS: The sample included 2.608 adults between 35 and 70 years old recruited between 2006 and 2009 and followed on average over 10.8 years. Food intake was measured using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire twice, at baseline, between June 2006 and October 2009, and after ten years of follow-up, between March 2018 and October 2019. The modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index (mAHEI) assessed participants' diet quality. Also, other socio-demographic and health variables were measured. RESULTS: During follow-up, the composition of the diet changed with an increase in the consumption of carbohydrates and fats and a decrease in the consumption of proteins. Also, 31.6% of participants improved their diet quality, but it worsened among 32.6% of participants. Being female, having a major health event, having a high educational level, and having sufficient household income were predictors for positive diet quality changes. CONCLUSIONS: During ten years of follow-up, the majority of participants did not improve their eating habits. Predictors of positive change were essentially the socio-demographic background and the occurrence of health events. Our findings suggest that it is necessary to reinforce policies related to diet with even more profound interventions than those already implemented.