To identify and present (i) how responsibility for poor diets in the UK is framed across the public, mass media and the government and (ii) how groups experiencing socio-economic disadvantage are presented within this framing.

A scoping review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted using six databases. A systematic narrative synthesis guided by qualitative content analysis was applied to summarise the findings.

Thirty-six articles were included. Studies exploring public perceptions of poor diets acknowledged personal and broader systems drivers, with individual responsibility predominating across studies. Research analysing media portrayals showed similar patterns of individual responsibility among right-leaning newspapers, which focused on individual lifestyle changes. However, left-wing newspapers highlighted the role of the food industry and the government. Studies analysing government policies identified citizens as the primary agents of change through rational decision-making. Framing from socio-economically disadvantaged groups showed a preference for prioritising their own choice, but were limited by household income, food prices and family food preferences. Policies and media portrayals provided limited emphasis on these populations, with individual responsibility narratives prevailing.

The framing of responsibility for poor diets in the UK centred on the individual, obscuring the powerful influence of food manufacturers and retailers and the role of government in providing safe, healthy environments for all. This review highlights the urgent need to challenge this narrative, with the public health nutrition community working collectively to force a radical shift in public, media and policy framing and incite strong regulatory action by governments.

To explore the formal and informal ways in which different actors involved in shaping trade agreements pursue their interests and understand the interactions with nutrition, in order to improve coherence between trade and nutrition policy goals.

The paper draws on empirical evidence from Australian key informant interviews that explore the underlying political dimensions of trade agreements that act as barriers or facilitators to getting nutrition objectives on trade agendas.

Countries experiencing greater availability and access to diets full of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods through increased imports, greater foreign direct investment and increasing constraints on national health policy space as a result of trade agreements.

Interviews took place with Australian government officials, industry, public-interest non-government organizations and academics.

The analysis reveals the formal and informal mechanisms and structures that different policy actors use both inside and outside trade negotiations to pursue their interests. The analysis also identifies the discourses used by the different actors, as they attempt to influence trade agreements in ways that support or undermine nutrition-related goals.

Moving forward requires policy makers, researchers and health advocates to use various strategies including: reframing the role of trade agreements to include health outcomes; reforming the process to allow greater access and voice to health arguments and stakeholders; establishing cross-government partners through accountable committees; and building circles of consensus and coalitions of sympathetic public-interest actors.