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. 2016 Apr 5;13(4):e1001990.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001990. eCollection 2016 Apr.

Why Are Some Population Interventions for Diet and Obesity More Equitable and Effective Than Others? The Role of Individual Agency

Jean Adams  1 , Oliver Mytton  1 , Martin White  1 , Pablo Monsivais  1
Affiliations

Why Are Some Population Interventions for Diet and Obesity More Equitable and Effective Than Others? The Role of Individual Agency

Jean Adams et al. PLoS Med. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Jean Adams and colleagues argue that population interventions that require individuals to use a low level of agency to benefit are likely to be most effective and most equitable.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Illustration of the intervention pathway in low- (top) and high-agency (bottom) population interventions.
Both examples illustrate population interventions to increase folate in women trying to conceive. The top panel illustrates an information leaflet encouraging women to take folic acid supplements (a high-agency population intervention). The bottom panel illustrates the universal addition of folic acid to mainstream wheat flour (a low-agency intervention). Numbers are illustrative and indicate how many women might be in each pathway if it is hypothetically assumed that there is 20% attrition at each step. The steps shown in both cases are illustrative and not necessarily exhaustive.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Two continuums describe all public health interventions, with examples related to diet and obesity.
Interventions grouped together fall at similar points on the two continuums; we have not attempted to make fine-grained distinctions of where interventions fall on each continuum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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