A public health approach to decreasing obesity.

In concert with clinical medicine, which addresses diseases in individuals, the public health approach targets behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental factors that contribute to disease and injury in populations. For example, over the last 40 years, coordinated government efforts and efforts and private sector initiatives decreased smoking prevalence by almost half through taxation of tobacco products, smoking bans in public places, laws prohibiting tobacco sales to minors, advertising restrictions, and aggressive public education campaigns. Soon, however, obesity may surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Public health interventions to decrease obesity prevalence must apply the same kind of multifaceted and coordinated approach that reduced tobacco use in order to change individual behavior patterns and effectively address the environmental barriers to physical activity and healthful food choices.