Obesity prevention: the case for action

Abstract

Contents 1. Obesity and the global burden of disease 2. Prevalence, trends and economics 3. Targets for action 4. The action agenda 5. Potential solutions 6. Tracking outcomes 7. Glossary of terms 8. Key references and further reading 9. Case studies: Available on Nature website at www.naturesj.com=ijo=index.html

Reducing unhealthy weight gain in children through community capacity-building: results of a quasi-experimental intervention program, Be Active Eat Well

“…5 There is a broad agreement that, to reduce obesity, priority needs to be given to multistrategy, multisetting prevention efforts, particularly in children and adolescents. 6,7 Controlled obesity prevention trials in childhood are few in number, mostly short term (1 year or less), focused on only a single or a few strategies (education or social marketing only) and settings (school-based only) and largely showed little or no impact. [8][9][10] Until recently, the studies that did show an impact tended to be high-intensity, less sustainable approaches (for example, extensive classroom time promoting individual behavior change).…”

“…[8][9][10] It is clear that innovative approaches that work and are flexible, effective, cost effective, equitable and sustainable are urgently needed, and comprehensive community-wide interventions hold promise as one such option. 6,7,[10][11][12] We are currently evaluating a capacity-building approach to community-wide interventions aimed at reducing childhood obesity in six controlled intervention demonstration projects in a broad range of contexts, age groups and ethnic groups across four countries (Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand). 13 It is rare that communities have sufficient resources or capacity to promote health, and therefore a process of capacity building is required.…”

Worksite Opportunities for Wellness (WOW): Effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors after 1 year

“…In 2003, the National Business Group on Health established The Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity, with a core objective being to "propose innovative solutions that large employers can implement to control costs related to lifestyle-related behaviors" (National Business Group on Health, 2008). The worksite offers a unique setting to implement health promotion programs and provides an ideal opportunity to engage large numbers of individuals in a very efficient and cost-effective manner (Hennrikus and Jeffery, 1996;Kumanyika et al, 2002).…”

Trends in Presentations of Environmental and Policy Studies Related to Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity at Society of Behavioral Medicine, 1995–2010: a Commentary to Accompany the Active Living Research Supplement to Annals of Behavioral Medicine

“…Several ecological models have been developed since the early 2000s that are specific to obesity, nutrition, and physical activity [11][12][13][14][15], and these models are guiding major initiatives in obesity prevention in the USA [16][17][18] and internationally [11,19]. There appears to be a consensus reached by authoritative groups that multilevel interventions emphasizing policy and environmental changes are required to control the global obesity epidemic.…”

“…In conclusion, health behavior researchers appear to be responding to calls for more environmental and policy research that can inform multi-level intervention approaches to control obesity and improve eating and physical activity behaviors [11,[16][17][18][19]. Between 2000 and 2010, the proportion of physical activity, nutrition, and obesity presentations that included environmental or policy content presented at the Society of Behavioral Medicine conference substantially increased.…”