In more than half of the OECD, 50% or more of the population is overweight. A key risk factor for a range of chronic diseases, obesity has become a major public health concern. This book contributes to evidence-based policy making by exploring multiple dimensions of the obesity problem.The authors, including special contributions from health and obesity experts Marc Suhrcke, Tim Lobstein, Donald Kenkel and Francesco Branca, challenge the perception that explanations for the obesity epidemic are simple and solutions are within reach. A detailed look at the data reveals a more complicated picture, one in which even finding objective evidence on the phenomenon is a difficult task. This important book examines the scale and characteristics of the epidemic, the respective roles and influence of market forces and governments, and the impact of interventions. It argues that efforts to prevent obesity and related chronic diseases can provide the means to increase social welfare and enhance health equity, relative to a situation in which chronic diseases are simply treated once they emerge. It outlines an economic approach to the prevention of chronic diseases that provides novel insights relative to a more traditional public health approach. Policy makers, health professionals and academics in public and social policy, as well as health economists who are trying to understand the epidemic and devise an effective strategy to counter it, will find this a vital resource.

Sassi, F; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

F Sassi; OECD

Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar

Elgar Publishing Limited, Edward

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

Cheltenham, UK, ©2010

Jan 30, 2011

Source title: Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit Not Fat

277 pages : 25 cm
In a majority of OECD countries, 50% or more of the population is overweight. A key risk factor for a range of chronic diseases, obesity has become a major public health concern. This book contributes to evidence-based policy making by exploring multiple dimensions of the obesity problem. This book examines the scale and characteristics of the epidemic, the respective roles and influence of market forces and governments, and the impact of interventions
"In association with the OECD."
Includes bibliographical references and index
Obesity and the economics of prevention -- Obesity : Past and projected future trends -- The social dimensions of obesity -- How does obesity spread? -- Tackling obesity : The roles of governments and markets -- The impact of interventions -- Information, incentives, and choice : A viable approach to preventing obesity -- Supplementary figures and tables -- Author's and contributors' biographies

Before 1980, [obesity] rates were generally well below 10%. They have since doubled or tripled in many countries, and in almost half of the OECD, 50% or more of the population is overweight. A key risk factor for numerous chronic diseases, obesity is a major public health concern. This book contributes to evidence-based policy making by exploring multiple dimensions of the obesity problem. It examines the scale and characteristics of the epidemic, the respective roles and influence of market forces and governments, and the impact of interventions. It outlines an economic approach to the prevention of chronic diseases that provides novel insights relative to a more traditional public health approach. The analysis was undertaken by the OECD, partly in collaboration with the World Health Organization.--Publisher's description

2023-06-28