The Healthy Diné Nation Act (HDNA) of 2014 included a 2% tax on foods of little-to-no-nutritious value (“junk foods”) on the Navajo Nation. The law was the first ever in the United States and any Indigenous nation worldwide with a population at a high risk for common nutrition-related conditions. To date, research on community support for food tax legislation among Indigenous nations is entirely lacking.
Objective:
To assess the extent of support for the HDNA and factors associated with support including sociodemographic variables, knowledge of the HDNA, nutrition intake, and pricing preferences.
Design:
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting:
The Navajo Nation.
Participants:
A total of 234 Navajo Nation community members across 21 communities.
Outcome Measures:
The percentage of participants who were supportive of the HDNA.
Results:
Participants were 97% Navajo, on average middle-aged, 67% reported an income below $25 000 annually, and 69.7% were female. Half of the respondents said they “support” (37.4%) or “strongly support” (13.0%) the tax, while another 35% of people said they were neutral or somewhat supportive; 15% did not support the tax. Participants with higher income (P = .025) and education (P = .026) and understanding of the legislation (P