Obesogenic Environments

In a world where obesity has now reached epidemic proportions, a thorough understanding of the underlying causes of the problem is essential if society, public health initiatives and government policies are to successfully address the issue. The obesogenic environment describes all the possible influences that our environment presents which encourage overweight and obesity in individuals and populations. Beginning with an overarching introduction to obesity and its implications for health and wellbeing, the book will move on to consider such crucial areas as eating behaviours and food environments, physical activity and the environment, the urban environment, methods, policy and future research directions. Brings together expertise from across a range of disciplines Written by a truly multidisciplinary team of international authors Presents some of the most innovative thinking in the battle against obesity This groundbreaking book brings together for the first time the knowledge of experts with backgrounds in nutrition and dietetics, policy, epidemiology, environmental sciences, medical sciences, town planning and urban design, transport, geography and physical activity in order to offer a multidisciplinary approach to public health, suggesting new and exciting ways to shape our environment to better support healthful decisions.

Obesity has become a global crisis. Although most would agree that eating better and being more physically active are the answer to the problem, researchers have recently become aware that the problem goes beyond just changing individual behaviors. We can convince people of the benefits of healthful eating and regular physical activity, but what happens when they go home to a neighborhood where fresh vegetables are not available and opportunities for physical activity are hard to find? If the environment doesn’t help support healthy lifestyles, the change will be next to impossible to sustain. In Reversing the Obesogenic Environment, leading researchers Lee, McAlexander, and Banda introduce the concept of the obesogenic environment—an environment that leads people to become obese—and explore ways that changing our environment can encourage healthier choices. Although most of the current literature focuses on the food supply and dietary habits, Reversing the ObesogenicEnvironment takes a broader view of the current obesity problem. It looks at all of the elements that combine to create the obesogenic environment: •The ways that the built environment, access to resources, and active transportation systems can either foster or discourage regular physical activity •The multiple factors that encourage consumption of calorie-laden, nutritionally inadequate foods that can lead to obesity •The positive and negative impact of public policy •The influence of family, culture, socioeconomic status, and other social factors on an individual’s health behaviors as well as access to physical activity opportunities and healthier food options •The role that media and marketing play in food purchasing decisions With Reversing the Obesogenic Environment, readers will get a cutting-edge view of this emerging body of research with applications that can be realistically implemented in their communities. The book goes beyond defining the issues that contribute to the obesity epidemic—it offers tools that will help practitioners start to reverse it. Throughout the book, the authors incorporate practical recommendations based on the latest research. Sample programs and policies, checklists, and potential solutions offer readers a starting point for changes in their own communities. The obesity epidemic is a multifaceted issue influenced by factors ranging from international trade and national policy to individual behaviors. Reversing the problem will take coordinated multilevel efforts. These efforts may take years to come to fruition, but it isn’t too late to take action. Reversing the Obesogenic Environment is the ideal guide to taking the first steps toward change. Reversing the Obesogenic Environment is part of the Physical Activity Intervention Series (PAIS). This timely series provides educational resources for professionals interested in promoting and implementing physical activity and health promotion programs to a diverse and often-resistant population.

Reversing the Obesogenic Environment describes the factors that contribute to an environment that leads to obesity, including public policy, the built environment, food supply and distribution, family and cultural influences, technology, and the media. It also offers tools that help professionals start to reverse the obesity epidemic.

Over the past two decades, rates of adult and childhood obesity in the developed world have risen sharply. By the year 2000, 65% of the United States population were overweight, 30% of these obese. Whilst medical treatment has tended to focus on individual habits of diet and exercise, this approach does little to account for globally increasing levels of obesity, and the external, environmental factors that may be responsible. This in-depth study assembles the evidence for a geographical explanation of current obesity trends, and is the first work to examine the ways in which environment and living conditions promote an imbalance of energy intake over energy expenditure. The book calls upon the expertise of geographers, nutritionists, epidemiologists, sociologists and public health researchers, resulting in a broad, multidisciplinary analysis of this important health issue. Cover graphic designed by Georgia Witten-Sage.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Rationalities and models of obesity -- Energy balance, genetics and obesogenic environments -- Governance through measurement -- Inequalities -- Food and eating -- Global transformations of diet -- Obesity science and policy -- Complexity -- Systems and rationalities

Presents the State-of-the-Art in Fat Taste Transduction A bite of cheese, a few potato chips, a delectable piece of bacon – a small taste of high-fat foods often draws you back for more. But why are fatty foods so appealing? Why do we crave them? Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects covers the many factors responsible for the sensory appeal of foods rich in fat. This well-researched text uses a multidisciplinary approach to shed new light on critical concerns related to dietary fat and obesity. Outlines Compelling Evidence for an Oral Fat Detection System Reflecting 15 years of psychophysical, behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular studies, this book makes a well-supported case for an oral fat detection system. It explains how gustatory, textural, and olfactory information contribute to fat detection using carefully designed behavioral paradigms. The book also provides a detailed account of the brain regions that process the signals elicited by a fat stimulus, including flavor, aroma, and texture. This readily accessible work also discusses: The importance of dietary fats for living organisms Factors contributing to fat preference, including palatability Brain mechanisms associated with appetitive and hedonic experiences connected with food consumption Potential therapeutic targets for fat intake control Genetic components of human fat preference Neurological disorders and essential fatty acids Providing a comprehensive review of the literature from the leading scientists in the field, this volume delivers a holistic view of how the palatability and orosensory properties of dietary fat impact food intake and ultimately health. Fat Detection represents a new frontier in the study of food perception, food intake, and related health consequences.