The guide builds on the World Health Organization (WHO) School Policy Framework on Diet and Physical Activity. It is a practical instrument that facilitates the adoption, adaptation and operationalization of the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (DPAS) School Policy Framework. It focuses on governmental action to improve dietary practice and increase physical activity in the school setting at national and subnational levels through action on environment, behaviour and education. The primary target users of this guide are “health promoting schools” focal points within ministries of education and health and any other government units involved in the development of school health policies. It is also recommended that other ministries are involved, such as finance, agriculture, transportation, physical environment, sports, recreation, culture, as well as other stakeholders in the policy development process. The guide provides a set of tools to assist in establishing school policy on diet and physical activity. Organized into four sections, the guide supports: preparation and situation analysis; development of policy goals
and objectives; selection and implementation of policy options; and monitoring and evaluation of related processes and outcomes. Section 1: Getting started, discusses establishing human infrastructure, mechanisms for collaboration and conducting a situation analysis, that are all required before developing a policy on diet and physical activity. Section 2: Policy goals and objectives, provides users with tools to develop clear policy goals, objectives and targets in order to define the areas requiring immediate improvement. Section 3: Selecting and assessing policy interventions, proposes policy options organized into six categories and provides tools to assist in the process of selecting and assessing policy. Section 4: Monitoring and evaluation, provides tools to enable the users to select process, output and impact indicators to measure progress.