Geographies of Obesity

Over the past two decades, rates of adult and childhood obesity in the developed world have risen sharply. This study assembles the evidence for a geographical explanation of this trend, examining the ways in which environment and living conditions promote an imbalance of energy intake over energy expenditure.

Jamie Pearce, University of Edinburgh, UK and Karen Witten, Massey University, New Zealand

I: Introduction; 1: Bringing a Geographical Perspective to Understanding the 'Obesity Epidemic'; 2: The Emerging Obesity Epidemic: An Introduction; 3: Contextual Determinants of Obesity: An Overview; II: Food Environment and Obesity (Energy In); 4: Changing Food Environment and Obesity: An Overview; 5: Understanding the Local Food Environment and Obesity; 6: Childhood Obesity and the Food Environment; III: Physical Activity, Environment and Obesity (Energy Out); 7: The Role of the Changing Built Environment in Shaping Our Shape; 8: Understanding the Local Physical Activity Environment and Obesity; 9: Childhood Obesity, Physical Activity and the Physical Environment; IV: Obesogenic Environments and Policy Responses; 10: Policy Responses and Obesogenic Food Environments; 11: Policy Responses and the Physical Environment; V: Future Research Challenges; 12: Residential Environments and Obesity - Estimating Causal Effects; 13: Measuring Obesogenic Environments - Representing Place in Studies of Obesity; 14: Recourse to Discourse: Talk and Text as Avenues to Understand Environments of Obesity; VI: Conclusions; 15: Conclusions: Common Themes and Emerging Questions