Obesity and the Economics of Prevention
Fit not Fat
Before 1980, 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. The main chapters are complemented by special contributions from health and obesity experts, including Marc Suhrcke, Tim Lobstein, Donald Kenkel and Francesco Branca.
“a valuable set of results and suggestions about the best preventive interventions to reduce the burden of obesity.” – Julio Frenk, Dean, Harvard School of Public Health
“The positive message of this book is that the obesity epidemic can be successfully addressed.” – Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General, World Health Organization
“innovative and well-researched” – Martin McKee, Professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
"A timely, valuable volume on a critical issue. Highly recommended."-Choice, July 2011
Also available in: French
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 4.22MBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD
Acknowledgements
Many deserve credit for the contents of this book, but two deserve it above all: Michele Cecchini and Marion Devaux, whose tireless efforts have given substance to the work presented herein. Michele’s work is behind the analyses of the impact of prevention strategies discussed in Chapter 6, while Marion’s is behind all of the statistical analyses presented in Chapters 2 and 3. Without them, this book would not have been written.
Also available in: French
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 224.86KBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD