Obesogenic Environments

Britain has been described as an ‘obese society’ [1]. The prevalence of obesity in the UK has tripled over 20 years and continues to increase at an alarming rate [2].

Thought to be one of the driving forces behind today’s obesity epidemic, obesogenic environments are defined as ‘the sum of influences that the surroundings, opportunities, or conditions of life have on promoting obesity in individuals or populations’ [3]. Prevention and treatment of obesity has focused on pharmacological, educational and behavioural interventions, with limited overall success. A novel and a longer term approach would be to investigate the environments which promote high energy intake and sedentary behaviour; this has not yet been fully understood. The obesity epidemic has attracted attention at all levels, from general media interest to policy and practice from health and other professions including urban designers and planners. Shaping the environment to better support healthful decisions has the potential to be a key aspect of a successful obesity prevention intervention. Thus in order to develop effective environmental interventions, in relation to obesity, we need to understand how individuals, and different groups of individuals, interact with their environments in terms of physical activity and food intake [4, 5].

References

  1. Foresight, Tackling Obesities: Future Choices – Project report. 2007, Government Office for Science: London.
  2. National Audit Office, 'Tackling Obesity in England: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General'. 2001, London: The Stationery Office.
  3. Swinburn, B. and G. Egger, Preventive strategies against weight gain and obesity. Obesity Reviews, 2002. 3(4): p. 289-301.
  4. Lake, A. and T. Townshend, Obesogenic environments: exploring the built and food environments. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 2006. 126(6): p. 262-267.
  5. Townshend, T. and A.A. Lake, Obesogenic urban form: Theory, policy and practice. Health & Place, 2009. 15(4): p. 909-916.

Further reading

Foresight Obesity review
http://www.foresight.gov.uk/OurWork/ActiveProjects/Obesity/Obesity.asp

Feng, J., et al., The built environment and obesity: A systematic review of the epidemiologic evidence. Health & Place, 2010. 16(2): p. 175-190.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19880341

Townshend, T. and A.A. Lake, Obesogenic urban form: Theory, policy and practice. Health & Place, 2009. 15(4): p. 909-916.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19201641

Lake, A. and T. Townshend, Obesogenic environments: exploring the built and food environments. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 2006. 126(6): p. 262-267.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17152319