Legal Approaches to the Obesity Epidemic: An Introduction

Kelley, Ben; Smith, Jason

doi:10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3190033

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The industry has strongly opposed legislative and regulatory approaches that encourage healthy eating when these may restrict its profitability [124-126]. It has placed considerable pressure on federal and state legislatures, at least in the United States, to enact statutes prohibiting lawsuits against food and beverage companies and restaurants for obesity-related claims [2,125]. It has supported health promotion measures addressing obesity, but those measures with the likely outcome of increasing consumer confusion rather than promoting healthy eating [93].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health campaigns and obesity - a critique

et al. 2011

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BackgroundControlling obesity has become one of the highest priorities for public health practitioners in developed countries. In the absence of safe, effective and widely accessible high-risk approaches (e.g. drugs and surgery) attention has focussed on community-based approaches and social marketing campaigns as the most appropriate form of intervention. However there is limited evidence in support of substantial effectiveness of such interventions.DiscussionTo date there is little evidence that community-based interventions and social marketing campaigns specifically targeting obesity provide substantial or lasting benefit. Concerns have been raised about potential negative effects created by a focus of these interventions on body shape and size, and of the associated media targeting of obesity.SummaryA more appropriate strategy would be to enact high-level policy and legislative changes to alter the obesogenic environments in which we live by providing incentives for healthy eating and increased levels of physical activity. Research is also needed to improve treatments available for individuals already obese.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health campaigns and obesity - a critique

et al. 2011

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“…Indeed, it was the wrongdoings of the tobacco manufacturers, rather than the health risks of tobacco, that resulted in successful litigation against tobacco companies 203 . The food companies consider litigation a very real threat, as demonstrated by their attempts to try to prevent it from being allowed 204 , 205 .…”

Section: Aetiology Of Primary Childhood Obesity: Obesogenic Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar tax could be levied on products that promote sedentary activity 209 , 210 . The other side of this coin is to change the way agriculture subsidies work to reduce the retail costs of fruit and vegetables and to discourage, rather than support, the marketing of obesogenic foods 204 .…”

Section: Aetiology Of Primary Childhood Obesity: Obesogenic Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The aetiology of childhood obesity: a review

Procter

2007

Nutr. Res. Rev.

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Whilst the prevention of childhood obesity is the only viable, enduring, cost-effective solution to the obesity epidemic, effective methods for it remain elusive. Furthermore, strategies to influence obesogenic environments remain relatively unexplored. In order to be able to develop powerful population-level interventions and public health policies to prevent childhood obesity, it is important to understand its aetiology and those environments that are most amenable to measurable change. First, the present paper considers why we should be concerned about obesity in children, from both the perspective of the increased health risk to the individual and the high economic cost of treatment of obesity and related diseases, highlighting why the prevention of childhood obesity is important. Next, the determinants of health behaviour and the obesogenic environment are explored, which helps us to understand why the aetiology is so complex and that potential causal factors should not be considered in isolation, as the interaction between these factors is also important. The paper then considers the multi-factorial aetiology of childhood obesity and the rationale for the increasing trends in obesity that are evident, in order to understand what is changing in society and our children's behaviour that is triggering the positive energy balance leading to obesity. The review emphasises the need for multi-level approaches if we truly want to prevent childhood obesity. It also serves to highlight that there is a need to extend the current research base in order to build a well-founded framework to form the basis of a strategy for the prevention of childhood obesity.Aetiology of childhood obesity: Prevention of obesity: Obesogenic environments

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“…Policy approaches are also highly appropriate for reaching multiple sectors of the community, including socio-economically disadvantaged populations where obesity levels are disproportionately high [ 7 , 8 ]. These reasons, along with the need for potent, sustainable and cost-effective strategies to reduce obesity prevalence all point towards the importance of policy approaches [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic policy approach to changing the food system and physical activity environments to prevent obesity

Sacks

Swinburn

Lawrence

2008

Aust N Z Health Policy

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As obesity prevention becomes an increasing health priority in many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, the challenge that governments are now facing is how to adopt a systematic policy approach to increase healthy eating and regular physical activity. This article sets out a structure for systematically identifying areas for obesity prevention policy action across the food system and full range of physical activity environments. Areas amenable to policy intervention can be systematically identified by considering policy opportunities for each level of governance (local, state, national, international and organisational) in each sector of the food system (primary production, food processing, distribution, marketing, retail, catering and food service) and each sector that influences physical activity environments (infrastructure and planning, education, employment, transport, sport and recreation). Analysis grids are used to illustrate, in a structured fashion, the broad array of areas amenable to legal and regulatory intervention across all levels of governance and all relevant sectors. In the Australian context, potential regulatory policy intervention areas are widespread throughout the food system, e.g., land-use zoning (primary production within local government), food safety (food processing within state government), food labelling (retail within national government). Policy areas for influencing physical activity are predominantly local and state government responsibilities including, for example, walking and cycling environments (infrastructure and planning sector) and physical activity education in schools (education sector). The analysis structure presented in this article provides a tool to systematically identify policy gaps, barriers and opportunities for obesity prevention, as part of the process of developing and implementing a comprehensive obesity prevention strategy. It also serves to highlight the need for a coordinated approach to policy development and implementation across all levels of government in order to ensure complementary policy action.

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Legal Approaches to the Obesity Epidemic: An Introduction

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Public health campaigns and obesity - a critique

Public health campaigns and obesity - a critique

The aetiology of childhood obesity: a review

A systematic policy approach to changing the food system and physical activity environments to prevent obesity

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