Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention

To battle the obesity epidemic in America, health care professionals and policymakers need relevant, useful data on the effectiveness of obesity prevention policies and programs. Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention identifies a new approach to decision making and research on obesity prevention to use a systems perspective to gain a broader understanding of the context of obesity and the many factors that influence it. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Obesity Prevention Strategies in Concept and Practice 3 Rationale for and Overview of the L.E.A.D. Framework 4 Defining the Problem: The Importance of Taking a Systems Perspective 5 Specifying Questions and Locating Evidence: An Expanded View 6 Evaluating Evidence 7 Assembling Evidence and Informing Decisions 8 Opportunities to Generate Evidence 9 Next Steps 10 Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix A: Acronyms and Glossary Appendix B: Other Evidence Projects Appendix C: Review of Existing Reviews on Obesity Prevention Appendix D: Information Sources for Locating Evidence Appendix E: An In-Depth Look at Study Designs and Methodologies Appendix F: Agendas from Two Workshops Appendix G: Committee Member Biographical Sketches Index