Evidences to validate public policies: a review with an international research perspective

Nutrition and related health issues are nowadays topics of general interest. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased with alarming speed over the past twenty years, being described by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic. An evidence-based approach to public health interventions should be based on the best available information. Given the substantial investment of society in fundamental and applied health research, and the high expectations of society for reducing the burden of illness, attention to these matters should have high priority. There's an urgent need to foster the development of international standards, such as food labeling and profiling. Considering the complex network involved in obesity development, it is necessary to promote multiple-concurrent interventions, taking into account that by focusing on a single intervention in isolation, all other factors being constant, each individual policy change is likely to appear ineffective.