Obesity and Health
According to the World Health Organization, more than a billion adults are now overweight, with at least 300 million of them obese. The increasing incidence of obesity among children is especially alarming. Expanding girth increases risks for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and some forms of cancer. While genes play a role in weight gain, the biggest contributors to the global obesity epidemic are poor diet—including a high intake of saturated fats, trans fats, and sugars and a low intake of fruits and vegetables—and reduced physical activity, both of which reflect how modernization, urbanization, and globalization have reshaped society over recent decades. In search of a better understanding of this mounting public health problem, researchers with the RAND Corporation are examining the complicated and interacting factors that are causing us to grow fatter. Some of our current studies are highlighted below.
Profiles of Current Research
Highlights of Recent Studies
South Los Angeles Ban on Fast-Food Chains Misses the Mark
Examines the evidence for the ban on new fast-food chain restaurants in South Los Angeles (LA), including the density of such restaurants in the area and the eating habits of South LA residents, and concludes that the data do not support the ban.
Do Neighborhood Economic Conditions Influence the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables?
Neighborhood socioeconomic status has a positive, statistically significant relationship with fruit and vegetable intake. Special efforts to increase the availability of fresh produce and other healthy foods in disadvantaged neighborhoods may help local residents improve their diets and would be worth pursuing.
Does Neighborhood Deterioration Lead to Poor Health?
Residents of deteriorated neighborhoods have poorer health and unhealthier behaviors.
How Neighborhoods Can Reduce the Risk of Obesity
Neighborhoods can promote exercise among residents through parks, school playgrounds that are open on weekends, and a diverse array of businesses.
Modeling the Health and Medical Care Spending of the Future Elderly
While medical innovations will improve health and extend life, the result will likely be increased Medicare costs. Eliminating obesity and improving prevention could both save money and improve health.
Obesity and Disability: The Shape of Things to Come
Obesity is associated with more chronic medical conditions than smoking or problem drinking, and conditions associated with obesity—diabetes and musculoskeletal problems—are the fastest-growing causes of disability.
Pathways to Obesity: Are People "Hardwired" to Overeat?
The obesity epidemic may largely be based on the excessive availability of food (especially easily prepared, high-calorie items) in combination with an overabundance of cues (such as portion sizes and food visibility) that appeal to the way the human brain is "wired" to respond to food.
Why People Overeat: Rethinking the Causes of Obesity
Although obesity is often blamed on lack of willpower, the more likely culprit is automatic responsiveness to environmental cues, combined with the ready availability of cheap, high-calorie foods.
Related Websites
Working with Congress
RAND’s Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) furthers RAND’s mission to provide objective analysis and effective solutions by disseminating research results to Congress and federal agencies. OCR publishes a monthly electronic newsletter featuring current work on health policy. The RAND Health Congressional Newsletter is found at www.rand.org/congress/newsletters.html. Contact: Winfield Boerckel (winfield_boerckel@rand.org).
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2012 RAND Corporation.