Which option correctly pairs a major behavioral risk factor with an appropriate population-wide intervention for that factor?

• A. Tobacco use — cessation programs; physical inactivity — rolling out mass media campaigns; unhealthy diet/obesity — nutrition education, food environments.
• B. Tobacco use — nutrition education; physical inactivity — cessation programs; unhealthy diet/obesity — public transportation improvements.
• C. Tobacco use — cessation programs; physical inactivity — community exercise programs; unhealthy diet/obesity — nutrition education, food environments.
• D. Tobacco use — taxation; physical inactivity — taxation of gym memberships; unhealthy diet/obesity — advertising campaigns.

Answer: (C)

Matching major behavioral risk factors with population-wide interventions means choosing strategies that directly support behavior change and shape the environment to make healthy choices easier.

Tobacco use is most effectively addressed with cessation programs that offer support, counseling, and often pharmacotherapy to help people quit. This targets the behavior itself and has proven benefits when scaled to populations. For physical inactivity, community exercise programs work well because they increase access, provide social support, and create convenient opportunities for people to be active in their daily surroundings, which tends to have a broader reach than campaigns alone. When it comes to unhealthy diet and obesity, combining nutrition education with changes to food environments—such as making healthy options more available and affordable—helps people apply what they learn and makes healthier choices easier in real life.

These pairings reflect how population-level efforts advance behavior change by providing resources, supportive programs, and environmental changes. Other options mix interventions less aligned with the behavior (like using nutrition education for tobacco) or rely on approaches that are less effective at scale (such as taxing gym memberships).