Toward Health Equity: A Workshop Report on the State of the Science of Obesity Interventions for Adults

Loneke T Blackman Carr¹, Jamy Ard², Carmen Byker Shanks³, Evan M Forman⁴, Stephanie P Goldstein⁵, Debra Haire-Joshu⁶, Ania M Jastreboff⁷, Shaneeta Johnson⁸, Namratha R Kandula⁹, Peter T Katzmarzyk¹⁰, Thomas C Keyserling¹¹, Shiriki K Kumanyika¹², Bruce Y Lee¹³, Kristina Henderson Lewis², Michelle Y Martin¹⁴, Dariush Mozaffarian¹⁵, Robert L Newton Jr¹⁰, Angela Odoms-Young¹⁶, Emily Panza⁵, Nicolaas P Pronk¹⁷, Lisa G Rosas¹⁸, Carmen Samuel-Hodge¹⁹, Laura A Schmidt²⁰, Nancy E Sherwood²¹, Bonnie Spring²², Kristen Cooksey Stowers²³, Monica L Baskin²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
² Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
³ Center for Nutrition and Health Impact, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
⁴ Center for Weight Eating and Lifestyle Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Alpert Medical School and Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
⁶ Brown School of Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁷ Department of Medicine (Endocrinology & Metabolism) and Department of Pediatrics (Pediatric Endocrinology), Yale Obesity Research Center (Y-Weight), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery and Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁹ Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁰ Population and Public Health Sciences, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA.
¹¹ Division of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
¹² Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹³ Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research (PHICOR) and Center for Advanced Technology and Communication in Health (CATCH), City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
¹⁵ Food Is Medicine Institute, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁶ Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
¹⁷ HealthPartners Institute, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
¹⁹ Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
²⁰ Institute for Health Policy Studies, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
²¹ School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
²² Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
²³ Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
²⁴ Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Palliative Care, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.

PMID: 40927873
DOI: 10.1002/oby.70035

Toward Health Equity: A Workshop Report on the State of the Science of Obesity Interventions for Adults

Loneke T Blackman Carr et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025.

. 2025 Sep 10.

doi: 10.1002/oby.70035. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
² Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
³ Center for Nutrition and Health Impact, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
⁴ Center for Weight Eating and Lifestyle Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Alpert Medical School and Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
⁶ Brown School of Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁷ Department of Medicine (Endocrinology & Metabolism) and Department of Pediatrics (Pediatric Endocrinology), Yale Obesity Research Center (Y-Weight), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery and Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁹ Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁰ Population and Public Health Sciences, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA.
¹¹ Division of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
¹² Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹³ Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research (PHICOR) and Center for Advanced Technology and Communication in Health (CATCH), City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
¹⁵ Food Is Medicine Institute, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁶ Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
¹⁷ HealthPartners Institute, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
¹⁹ Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
²⁰ Institute for Health Policy Studies, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
²¹ School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
²² Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
²³ Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
²⁴ Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Palliative Care, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.

PMID: 40927873
DOI: 10.1002/oby.70035

Abstract

Objective: From October 18-20, 2022, the National Institutes of Health held a workshop to examine the state of the science concerning obesity interventions in adults to promote health equity. The workshop had three objectives: (1) Convene experts from key institutions and the community to identify gaps in knowledge and opportunities to address obesity, (2) generate recommendations for obesity prevention and treatment to achieve health equity, and (3) identify challenges and needs to address obesity prevalence and disparities, and develop a diverse workforce.

Methods: A three-day virtual convening.

Results: Several key themes emerged from the workshop discussions that describe directions to build on the currently limited amount of research on obesity, disparities, and equity. Key themes centered on the determinants of health, leveraging technology, clinical, community, commercial, and policy approaches. Community-engaged work, particularly in populations that have received little focus (e.g., sexual gender minorities, Asian communities), were also discussed.

Conclusions: Future research may be impactful when multilevel approaches are undertaken that leverage equity-minded tools and can be scaled up to meet community-informed population needs in a variety of settings. Funding priorities and workforce development will be critical to realizing health equity.

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References

1. C. L. Ogden, C. D. Fryar, C. B. Martin, et al., “Trends in Obesity Prevalence by Race and Hispanic Origin‐1999–2000 to 2017–2018,” JAMA 324, no. 12 (2020): 1208–1210, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.14590.
1. C. M. Hales, C. D. Fryar, M. D. Carroll, D. S. Freedman, Y. Aoki, and C. L. Ogden, “Differences in Obesity Prevalence by Demographic Characteristics and Urbanization Level Among Adults in the United States, 2013‐2016,” JAMA 319, no. 23 (2018): 2419–2429, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.7270.
1. B. Stierman, J. Afful, M. D. Carroll, et al., “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017–March 2020 Prepandemic Data Files Development of Files and Prevalence Estimates for Selected Health Outcomes,” National Health Statistics Reports, no. 158 (2021), https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:106273.
1. Z. Javed, J. Valero‐Elizondo, M. H. Maqsood, et al., “Social Determinants of Health and Obesity: Findings From a National Study of US Adults,” Obesity 30, no. 2 (2022): 491–502, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23336.
1. World Health Organization, A Conceptual Framework for Action on the Social Determinants of Health, Social Determinants of Health Discussion Paper 2 (WHO, 2010).

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Toward Health Equity: A Workshop Report on the State of the Science of Obesity Interventions for Adults

Affiliations

Toward Health Equity: A Workshop Report on the State of the Science of Obesity Interventions for Adults

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

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