An Environmental Scan on Obesity and Overweight Prevention in a Low Income Urban Setting: What Can Health Policies Do?

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges and barriers to effective obesity and overweight intervention in a low-income urban community through studying current public policies at different levels and identifying gaps. The final goal, thus, is to make policy recommendations that may improve the situation within the community. Method: The method used included environmental scan, five in-dept interviews, and twenty social meetings. To obtain participants for the interviews the snowballing sampling technique was used. The data collected was analyzed using qualitative methodology such as data stratification and classification to generate the grounded theory. Results: Some public policies such as the CDC obesity grant are under-funded and are not well communicated with disadvantaged urban communities. Subsequently, many of the community members are not aware of the available physical activity and nutrition programs. Conclusion: Public health policies in a low-income urban setting can be more effective if specific characteristics of the community such as: poverty, level of education, and cultural values are considered. So that obesity and other health problems can be viewed as priority issues in the context of the community's day to day life challenges.