Public health campaigns and obesity - a critique

BMC Public Health

Debate

John J McNeil¹  Helen L Walls¹  Anna Peeters¹  Joseph Proietto² 

[1] Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, 3004, Victoria, Australia;Repatriation Hospital, The Department of Medicine at Austine Hospital, 3084, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia;

关键词: Physical Activity;    Obesity;    Healthy Eating;    Social Marketing;    Regulatory Reform;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-136

 received in 2010-07-26, accepted in 2011-02-27,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundControlling obesity has become one of the highest priorities for public health practitioners in developed countries. In the absence of safe, effective and widely accessible high-risk approaches (e.g. drugs and surgery) attention has focussed on community-based approaches and social marketing campaigns as the most appropriate form of intervention. However there is limited evidence in support of substantial effectiveness of such interventions.DiscussionTo date there is little evidence that community-based interventions and social marketing campaigns specifically targeting obesity provide substantial or lasting benefit. Concerns have been raised about potential negative effects created by a focus of these interventions on body shape and size, and of the associated media targeting of obesity.SummaryA more appropriate strategy would be to enact high-level policy and legislative changes to alter the obesogenic environments in which we live by providing incentives for healthy eating and increased levels of physical activity. Research is also needed to improve treatments available for individuals already obese.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Walls et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011