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Reversing the Obesogenic Enviroment PDF

Reversing the Obesogenic Enviroment PDF

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    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.

    Part I: Public Health and Obesity

    Chapter 1: Emergence of the Obesogenic Environment

    Historical Emergence of Obesity as a Public Health Concern

    The Case for an Obesogenic Environment

    Ecologic Models of Health and the Importance of Supportive Environments

    Summary

    Chapter 2: Scope of Obesity

    Obesity Defined

    Causes of Obesity

    Vulnerable Populations

    Health Risks Associated With Overweight and Obesity

    Social and Psychological Costs of Obesity

    Summary

    Chapter 3: Body Composition Measurements

    Field Methods

    Laboratory Methods

    Summary

    Part II: Physical Activity and Obesity

    Chapter 4: The Built Environment

    Components of the Built Environment

    Measuring the Built Environment

    Limitations of Research on the Built Environment

    Neighborhood Walkability and Physical Activity

    Emerging Research and Recommendations

    Summary

    Chapter 5: Physical Activity Resources

    Parks and Open Spaces

    Walking Trails and Bikeways

    Home Environment

    Factors Influencing the Use of Physical Activity Resources

    Measuring Physical Activity Resources

    Emerging Research and Implications for the Future

    Summary

    Chapter 6: Active Transportation

    Personal Automobile and Obesity

    Walkability

    Public Transportation

    Active Transport to School

    Stair Use

    Summary

    Part III: Food Accessibility

    Chapter 7: Food Supply and Security

    Nutrition Transition

    Food Production

    Imports and Exports

    Food Storage

    Nutritional Disparities, Obesity, and Undernutrition

    Food Security

    Government intervention

    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

    Summary

    Chapter 8: Food Technology

    Genetic Engineering

    Trans-Fatty Acids

    Factory Farming

    Summary

    Part IV: Public Policy, Sociocultural Influences, and Obesity

    Chapter 9: Policy and Individual Health Choices

    Levels of Preventions

    Guidelines

    Educating Individuals

    Regulations at the Point of Purchase

    Incentives for Good Behavior

    Other Approaches

    Summary

    Chapter 10: Policy and the Obesogenic Environment

    Agriculture

    International Trade

    Food Industry and Food Environments

    Built Environment

    Transportation

    Schools

    Worksites

    Summary

    Chapter 11: Cultural and Familial Influences

    Family Culture Within the Ecologic Model of Obesity

    Cultural Influences

    Familial Influences

    Summary

    Chapter 12: Social Justice, Health Disparities, and Obesity

    Socioeconomic Status

    SES, Social Injustices, Health Behaviors, and Obesity

    Weight Discrimination

    Resiliency to Social Injustices

    Solutions

    Summary

    Part V: Media and Marketing

    Chapter 13: Point of Purchase

    Marketing, Advertising, Branding

    The Four Ps

    Summary

    Chapter 14: Influence of Media and Technology

    Biological Responses to Food Images

    Television Advertising and Children

    Internet Advertising

    Billboard Advertising

    Sports Sponsorships

    Media Interventions Strategies

    Summary

    Rebecca E. Lee, PhD, is the founding director of the Texas Obesity Research Center at the University of Houston. Lee is also an associate professor in the department of health and human performance at the University of Houston and holds a courtesy appointment at the University of Texas School of Public Health. She is a community health psychologist who has been principal investigator for numerous federally and privately funded research grants. Her studies have focused on interventions for populations of color, specifically interventions that incorporate social cohesion, ameliorate social injustices, and improve the quality of the neighborhood environment.

    Lee serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Women’s Health, the American Journal of Health Promotion, and Health Psychology. She has served as a charter member of the community-level health promotion study section of the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health and a member and former chair of the Mayor’s Wellness Council Public Policy Committee, which works to improve the health of Houstonians.

    Dr. Lee is a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She is a member of the Obesity Society and the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. She received the University of Houston College of Education Research Excellence Award in 2005 and 2008, and she has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a National Health Disparities Scholar. In 2009, her Saving Lives, Staying Active (SALSA) program was given the Outstanding Achievement for a Community Program Award by the Texas Council on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

    Kristen M. McAlexander, PhD, is a lecturer in the department of applied physiology and wellness at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Dr. McAlexander’s research interests include environmental and sociocultural influences of wellness behaviors and obesity, particularly among vulnerable populations such as women and low socioeconomic populations. McAlexander is also president and founder of Reflections Wellness, a local nonprofit organization designed to promote wellness while fighting local poverty and eliminating health disparities. Her research and nonprofit organization focus on understanding and reducing health disparities and improving wellness opportunities among underserved neighborhoods.

    McAlexander received a graduate research award and two graduate fellowships from the University of Houston department of health and human performance. McAlexander is an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified personal trainer and a member of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the Urban Affairs Association.

    Jorge A. Banda, MS, is a PhD candidate in the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and a research assistant at the university’s Prevention Research Center. Banda holds a master’s degree in exercise science from the University of Houston. His research has focused primarily on underserved populations, including low-income-housing residents, African-American and Latina women, and low-income rural communities.

    Banda received a Prevention Research Center Minority Health fellowship from the Association of Schools of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Charles Coker Fellowship from the University of South Carolina. He was twice awarded a Norman Arnold School of Public Health fellowship. Banda also attended the Built Environment Assessment Training Institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, San Diego State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Public Health Association.