NIEHS fights fat.

Obesity is an enormous public health threat for Americans of all ages, but is an especially serious problem for children and minorities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that 15% of all children and 25% of black and Hispanic children are overweight. With significant increase in weight comes a host of health problems and resultant health care expenditures. Obesity, like most chronic health problems, is caused by complex interactions between genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors.

Recognizing that basic research is needed to untangle these interactions and that intervention strategies are needed to prevent the potentially catastrophic health effects of obesity, the NIEHS is launching an initiative to support studies that will elucidate the mechanisms by which the built environment influences obesity and related diseases, and to develop effective models to reverse the trend toward increased obesity.

"The NIEHS is planning a multipronged approach, involving both research and education, to enable us to understand better how the environment affects obesity and to develop appropriate interventions," says Allen Dearry, the institute's associate director for research coordination, planning, and translation. "We are planning a concerted effort in conjunction with other NIH institutes, with other federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and with private foundations in order to ensure that a coordinated response is implemented to address the obesity problem."

The first step in the planned research effort will be to create and validate instruments to measure the impact that the community where one lives has on behavior and lifestyle choices affecting rates of obesity. To do this, it will be necessary to delineate the role and impact of factors such as urban/rural community design and planning, housing structure, transportation, and availability of public green spaces on issues including mental health, physical activity, nutrition, and access to healthy food for both individuals and populations. This research effort will require the input of multidisciplinary research teams from disparate fields including biomedical scientists, behavioral scientists, social scientists, clinicians, epidemiologists, planners, developers, and architects, as well as active participation of community members.

The second step in the NIEHS research approach will be to identify successful strategies for changing eating behavior, promoting a more active lifestyle, and altering the design of residential communities to make them more conducive to physical activity. Individual and communitywide interventions can be developed, implemented, and evaluated in order to assess their effectiveness in reducing obesity.

One of the more innovative educational strategies already launched by the NIEHS is the development of Fitness Fighters, a children's television program that would promote healthy eating behavior and an active lifestyle. The NIEHS is working with a writer and producer of the children's show Sesame Street to develop a pilot episode and series format. Efforts are under way to solicit cofunding for the series from industry and private foundations.

Another NIEHS effort in the initial stages of execution is a collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation is supporting a program titled Active Living by Design, which will provide support to 25 communities across the country to implement active living programs, policies, and communication strategies that involve local public health, planning, and transportation agencies. The NIEHS has partnered with the foundation to provide an evaluation component to this program in order to determine the efficacy of various policies and promotions in combating obesity.

To further refine a research, education, and intervention strategy to address the relationship between the environment and obesity, the NIEHS is planning a national workshop on the issue next spring. Those interested in participating may contact Dearry at [e-mail].