Using systems science to understand the determinants of inequities in healthy eating
Fig 2
HE2 causal loop diagram of the determinants of inequities in healthy eating.
The HE2 diagram is structured according to accepted principles of system dynamics [48]. The arrows indicate the direction and polarity of influence. The solid lines indicate positive polarity and the dashed lines indicate negative polarity. Positive polarity means that the initiating variable influences the receiving variable in the same direction of change (e.g. as the ‘distance between households and food retailers’ goes up, so does the ‘time spent travelling to food retailers’). Negative polarity means that the initiating variable influences the receiving variable in the opposite direction (e.g. when the ‘level of misinformation about unhealthy foods’ falls, an individual’s ‘ability to sort through conflicting health related messages’ rises). Polarities do not indicate the rate of influence, and it is important to note that change may occur at uneven rates within the diagram.