The challenge of managing body weight in the modern world

ABSTRACT

Obesity prevalence has increased dramatically in parallel with rapid economic development and rising standards of living around the world. There is growing recognition that this 'epidemic' of overweight is being driven by environmental factors that affect our eating and physical activity behaviours. In effect, the environment overwhelms our biological capacity to maintain a healthy weight. There is little scientific evidence to quantify the relative contributions of various environmental factors to risk of overweight and obesity. However, it is easy to characterize the environment as one in which food is readily available, convenient, inexpensive and great tasting. Likewise, the modern environment discourages physical activity at work, at home and in the community, and attractive sedentary pursuits compete with activity for leisure time. In fact, the causes of obesity in our society are so manifold as to be inseparable from the way we live. Many of the forces that drive individuals to eat too much and move too little are coupled to a desire for self-efficacy and increased productivity. It can be argued therefore that obesity is an unintended consequence of the emphasis we collectively place on productivity and a desire to achieve 'the good life'. In this sense, obesity is not really a biological problem, but a social problem that requires a multifactorial social solution. In order to create demand for environmental change to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours, we will need to create a greater sense of crisis among average citizens. We will need to explore solutions that make economic sense for everyone. We will need to create a new social norm for healthy eating and active living. The magnitude of the challenge is daunting, but we can begin by engaging broad scale public private partnerships. After all, we are all part of the global community that is affected by this emerging crisis.