Ad hoc planning committees will plan a series of 2-3 workshops that will feature invited presentations and discussions to explore strategies for sustainable systems-wide changes to reduce the prevalence of obesity. Building on previous work on systems science approaches, health equity, and effective health communications, the workshops will examine the connections between drivers and solutions of obesity that have potential for lasting systems change, including effective health communications, structural racism, and biased mental models and social norms. The workshop series will also explore the ways to leverage these connections and their impact on other obesity drivers and solutions across multiple levels and sectors of society.
Using diverse examples from across the public health field, workshop presentations could explore how these drivers interact with critical public health issues (e.g., COVID-19) to synergistically enhance obesity solutions. Workshop discussions will cover promising approaches, gaps in the evidence base, and the challenges and opportunities for long-term, systems-wide strategies needed to reduce the prevalence of obesity.
A proceedings-in-brief of the discussions for each workshop in the series and a full proceedings summarizing all presentations will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.