Obesity Prevention Program Area

The remarkably high prevalence of obesity indicates a need for prevention programs that can achieve positive impact on a large scale. Some programs have focused on children, while others have targeted adults at the worksite, or have attempted to intervene on entire communities.

Evidence of body weight tracking, as well as the hope that children will carry good health habits into adulthood, have inspired interventions targeting children. Several investigators have used the school as a venue. Generally, these interventions have been effective in changing attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and some self-reported behaviors; however, they have had little impact on body weight. Moreover, most programs have not achieved sustained impact. One of the more important lessons learned from this research is that inexpensive, low-intensity programs are unlikely to prevent obesity. The next generation of obesity prevention research should find innovative ways to change the school environment and to form partnerships among schools, families, and communities to make interventions far-reaching and with sufficient intensity to achieve sustained impact.

A limited number of studies have tested obesity prevention programs aimed at adults, using worksites as the delivery venue. These interventions have been primarily behavior-based approaches of relatively low intensity and short duration. Interventions are needed that address the influence of the workplace environment on eating and physical activity behaviors.

Members of this program area are: