A Soft (Open) Systems Approach to Evaluating Complex Policy and Environmental Interventions for Preventing Obesity in the Central Valley of California

Causes of obesity are best described as a complex system of factors that expose the population to low nutrient, high energy food choices and limits physical activity. There is building evidence of the connection between environment and physical inactivity as well unhealthy food choices. Our environment often does not support healthy habits. Places to walk and healthy foods are limited; High-calorie processed foods cost less and are easier to find and prepare than healthier foods, inadequate access to safe recreation places or the cost of gym memberships, limit opportunities for physical activity. Successful efforts, to reduce overweight and obesity, therefore must not only focus on the individual but also on institutional and community influences as well as public policy.

The Central California Regional Obesity Prevention (CCROPP) since 2006 has led an effort on environmental and policy interventions in the Central Jan Joaquin Valley of California. CCROPP is a six-county public/private/ partnership and involves multi-sector and multi-sector approaches.

Evaluating the impact of this effort in the natural environment is particularly challenging because it is difficult to establish causal relations between an intervention and a desired outcome, in a system where causal factors are nested and interconnected and definitive outcomes take several years to manifest. CCROPP regional office has adopted an open or soft systems approach for monitoring impact of CCROPP efforts. In this presentation we share the soft systems approach and share what we have achieved so far and how we plan to move forward.