What is the primary focus of Level 2 interventions?

Level 2 interventions primarily focus on building supportive environments to facilitate healthier choices within a community. This approach recognizes that individual behavior change is significantly influenced by the surrounding environment. By creating settings that encourage healthy eating and physical activity, such as improving access to nutritious foods and safe spaces for exercise, Level 2 interventions aim to make healthy options more accessible and appealing to individuals.

The environment plays a critical role in determining food availability, affordability, and social norms related to health behaviors. For example, enhancing the physical environment through community gardens or ensuring that healthy foods are available in local stores can lead to a culture of healthiness within the community.

This method differs from simply enhancing awareness, which focuses more on information dissemination and education without necessarily making changes to the environment. While providing incentives for behavior change and changing policies can also promote health, these strategies may not be as effective if the environment does not support the desired behaviors. Building supportive environments acknowledges the complexity of health behavior and targets the infrastructure that underpins lifestyle choices.