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Current Obesity Reports
Published in: Current Obesity Reports 4/2014

01-12-2014 | Economy and Environment (LM Powell, Section Editor)

Changing the Food Environment for Obesity Prevention: Key Gaps and Future Directions

Authors: Elizabeth Anderson Steeves, Paula Andrea Martins, Joel Gittelsohn

Published in: Current Obesity Reports | Issue 4/2014

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Abstract

The food environment has a great impact on the nutritional health of the population. Food environment interventions have become a popular strategy to address the obesity epidemic. However, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the most effective strategies to modify the food environment to improve health. In this review, we examine key gaps in the food environment intervention literature, including the need for: developing appropriate formative research plans when addressing the food environment; methods for selecting intervention domains and components; incorporating food producers and distributors in intervention strategies; strengthening evaluation of environmental interventions; building the evidence base for food environment interventions in diverse settings; engaging policy makers in the process of modifying the food environment; and creating systems science models to examine the costs and benefits of a potential program or policy on the food environment prior to implementation. In addition, we outline the need for strategies for addressing these issues including conducting pilot interventions, developing additional methodologies, and embracing the use of simulation models.
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Metadata
Title
Changing the Food Environment for Obesity Prevention: Key Gaps and Future Directions
Authors
Elizabeth Anderson Steeves
Paula Andrea Martins
Joel Gittelsohn
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Obesity Reports / Issue 4/2014
Electronic ISSN: 2162-4968
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-014-0120-0

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