A Health Equity Approach to Obesity Efforts

The obesity crisis in the United States disproportionately affects some demographic groups more than others. Contextual influences on obesity are complex and include an individual's weight-related behaviors and outcomes, the intermediate variables that influence these behaviors and outcomes, and broader, upstream historical, social, economic, physical, and policy contexts.The National Academies convened a workshop on April 1, 2019 to explore the history of health equity issues in demographic groups that have above-average obesity risk and to consider principles and approaches to address these issues as part of obesity prevention and treatment efforts. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.Table of ContentsFront Matter1 Introduction2 Setting the Stage: Key Definitions and Contexts3 Disparities in the Prevalence of Obesity4 Social Determinants of Health Inequities in Obesity Preventionand Control5 Lessons from the Field: Achieving Equity in Community and PublicHealth Approaches for Preventing and Treating Obesity6 Lessons from the Field: Achieving Equity in Obesity Treatment inHealth Care Settings7 ReflectionsReferencesAppendix A: Workshop AgendaAppendix B: Acronyms and AbbreviationsAppendix C: Background ResourcesAppendix D: Selected U.S. Laws and Opinions That Impact CivilRightsAppendix E: Biographical Sketches of Workshop Speakers and PlanningCommittee Members