Who bears the responsibility? Perceptions of responsibility for eating healthily and sustainably in a representative...

Public support for nutrition policies depends on beliefs about responsibility for dietary behaviour. We explored how perceptions of responsibility for healthy and sustainable eating relate to policy acceptability in a representative German sample.

Cross-sectional survey data were collected online (December 2023-January 2024). Participants rated the responsibility of the state, individuals, cafeterias, food industry, and parents for healthy and sustainable eating among adults and children, and the acceptability of nutrition policies. K-means cluster analyses identified patterns of responsibility attribution across four domains: adult health, adult sustainability, child health, and child sustainability. Differences in demographics and acceptability were assessed using χ² tests, t-tests, and linear regression.

Among 2001 participants, individuals were perceived as most and the state as least responsible for dietary behaviour. Two clusters emerged: a "Shared Responsibility" cluster assigning responsibility to all actors and a "Directed Responsibility" cluster assigning responsibility to industry (adult sustainability) or individuals/parents (other domains). Compared with the Directed Responsibility cluster, participants in the Shared Responsibility cluster reported greater policy acceptability (b = 0.45-0.56, all p < .001). Directed Responsibility participants were older, reported poorer health, and differed politically.

Emphasising shared responsibility for dietary behaviour may increase policy acceptability.