Advancing knowledge, maps and tools to address obesity and related socio-economic disparities in Europe: the OBCT project
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The steady rise in overweight and obesity in Europe disproportionately affects people and communities with a lower socio-economic position (SEP). Many obesity prevention approaches exist, but these have had limited reach and unsatisfactory effects thus far, especially in low-SEP populations. In this context, there is a need for implementation of effective individual-level and population-based preventive strategies that also tackle health inequalities. Effective strategies require consideration of the complex and cross-domain obesity risk factors across the life course. Feasible and acceptable strategies require multisectoral collaborations and innovative approaches, including a whole-of community and systems perspective. With the Horizon Europe-funded OBCT project, we aim to quantify the relative contribution of biological, socio-cultural and built environment factors to obesity and the interactions of these risks within and across various life course stages; and translate the resulting knowledge into practical, equitable, and effective tools for action. These tools will include: a comprehensive obesity risk screener; a map of the obesogenicity of neighbourhood environments as well as trends in obesity prevalence of each European country; recommendations for lifestyle behaviours (diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviours) to prevent obesity during key life transition stages; a decision support dashboard for policy makers; and co-developed toolboxes to support implementation of policy recommendations in low-SEP communities. OBCT’s outputs will highlight the areas and domains in which obesity should be targeted and will empower the research community, policymakers, health professionals and residents in Europe to adapt and implement strategies to effectively reduce obesity risk, particularly in low-SEP communities.
Paper Context
Main findings: Obesity has multifactorial causes across many domains, from genetic to social and environmental, which might not be equally distributed across the different population groups.
Added knowledge: This design paper contributes to the methodological development of integrated risk models across these population groups using novel methods and rich, existing population health datasets across Europe.
Global health impact for policy and action: This project aims to identify and stratify by population risk groups and design specific interventions with especially vulnerable groups in order to maximize public health impact across Europe.
Paper Context
Main findings: Obesity has multifactorial causes across many domains, from genetic to social and environmental, which might not be equally distributed across the different population groups.
Added knowledge: This design paper contributes to the methodological development of integrated risk models across these population groups using novel methods and rich, existing population health datasets across Europe.
Global health impact for policy and action: This project aims to identify and stratify by population risk groups and design specific interventions with especially vulnerable groups in order to maximize public health impact across Europe.
Date Issued
2025-12-01
Date Acceptance
2025-06-05
Citation
Global Health Action, 2025, 18 (1)
ISSN
1654-9716
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Journal / Book Title
Global Health Action
Volume
18
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
License URL
Subjects
OBCT consortium
Humans
Obesity
Exercise
Risk Factors
Life Style
Socioeconomic Factors
Europe
Health Status Disparities
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
2517492
Date Publish Online
2025-07-18