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Introduction
A virtual workshop titled Using Systems Applications to Inform Obesity Solutions, held on September 16, 2020, was convened by the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This workshop built on a prior roundtable workshop (held in April [Part 1] and June [Part 2] 2020), which introduced complex systems thinking and explored systems science approaches to obesity solutions. The September 2020 workshop explored various systems science approaches (i.e., methodologies and tools) and support structures that could guide future obesity research and action, and featured examples of how these approaches can inform decision making within policy and program areas.1 Workshop speakers discussed the support structures (e.g., data sources, modeling expertise, training, and partnerships and collaborations) that encourage and engage researchers and decision makers to use systems science approaches to better understand the causes of and solutions to the obesity epidemic. Note that throughout this proceedings, the terms systems science “applications,” “approaches,” “methods,” and “models” are used interchangeably to describe analytical
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1 The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop, and the Proceedings of a Workshop was prepared by the rapporteur as a factual account of what occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those of individual presenters and participants and are not necessarily endorsed or verified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. They should not be construed as reflecting any group consensus.
methodologies and tools. (See Appendix D for a glossary of terms used herein.) The workshop’s Statement of Task is in Box 1-1.2
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Nicolaas (Nico) Pronk, president of HealthPartners Institute, chief science officer at HealthPartners, Inc., and chair of the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions, welcomed participants and provided a brief overview of the roundtable. He explained that the roundtable engages leaders and voices from diverse sectors and industries (e.g., academia, government, health and health care, business, finance, media, education, child care, philanthropy, nonprofit) to help solve the nation’s obesity crisis. Through meetings, public workshops, reports, and four innovation collaboratives, he continued, the roundtable provides a venue for ongoing dialogue on critical and emerging issues in obesity prevention, as well as treatment and weight maintenance.
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2 The workshop agenda, presentations, and other materials are available at https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/09-16-2020/using-systems-applications-to-inform-obesity-solutions-a-workshop (accessed December 28, 2020).
It applies a policy, systems, and environmental change lens; focuses on sustainable, equitable strategies for addressing obesity-related disparities; and explores and advances effective solutions.
Pronk described the workshop as part of a strategic planning process designed to develop a roadmap for the roundtable to inform action-oriented solutions. This process has included a group model-building exercise with roundtable members, he elaborated, and featured the prior workshop mentioned above, which emphasized the importance of applying multisector systems perspectives when implementing obesity solutions. Pronk clarified that the goal of the workshop documented in this proceedings was to encourage and engage diverse stakeholders to use systems science approaches by highlighting the real-world application of these approaches to inform decisions related to obesity solutions.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS PROCEEDINGS
This proceedings follows the order of the workshop agenda (see Appendix A), chronicling its sessions in individual chapters. Chapter 2 presents a practitioner’s perspective on the promises and pitfalls of systems science approaches. Chapter 3 reviews the usefulness of these approaches for stakeholders in different sectors, including those in the business and private sector and communities, as well as policy makers. Chapter 4 summarizes reflections from the workshop organizers, as well as comments from a final speaker who recapped the workshop highlights and suggested next steps for improving the understanding and use of systems science approaches for obesity solutions. Appendix B is a list of acronyms and abbreviations used in this proceedings and Appendix C provides the biographical sketches of the workshop speakers and the moderators.
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