Prevention Strategies in Obesity Management: A Systematic Review Comparing Canadian and American Guidelines for Adults

Abstract

The fast-increasing obesity prevalence rates in children, youths, and adults in the last decade have made obesity prevention a global public health priority. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the various obesity prevention strategies and guidelines implemented in the United States and Canada. Thus, for this study, a systematic review was performed on various online databases including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE. The decision to study the obesity prevention strategies in Canada and the United States is a result of the high prevalence rates of obesity in the two countries, alongside the numerous prevention interventions that have been executed to prevent obesity. Additionally, the systematic review used robust methodology that followed the Cochrane guidance and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Only studies published between 2014 and 2024, drawn from listed databases, were included in this systematic review. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies, with the studies being rated moderate to high quality. Therefore, a total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The findings indicate that various obesity prevention interventions have been implemented across the United States and Canada, with diverse degrees of success in obesity prevention and management. Food labeling, regular exercises, portion size regulation, school-based intervention strategies, early childhood Intervention programs, and sugar-sweetened beverage taxation were found to be effective interventions for preventing obesity in children and adults. Based on the findings, there is a need to ensure full execution of the different interventions to ensure significant reduction in obesity prevalence, as well as prevention of obesity in different populations.