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Using Systems Applications to Inform Obesity Solutions: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
Pages 1-11

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From page 1...
... This Proceedings of a Workshop -- in Brief highlights the presentations and discussions that occurred at the workshop and is not intended to provide a comprehensive summary of information shared during the workshop.2 The information summarized here reflects the knowledge and opinions of individual workshop participants and should not be seen as a consensus of the workshop participants, the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions, or the National Academies. THE PROMISES AND PITFALLS OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE APPROACHES: A PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE The workshop's first session featured speaker Jack Homer, director of Homer Consulting, who introduced systems science models that can help address complex public health issues, such as obesity, and discussed opportunities and challenges associated with various stakeholders' use of these applications.
From page 2...
... 3,4 -- and underscored that despite differing levels of analysis, time constraints, approaches to uncertainty, and heterogeneity of individuals, all three approaches agree that models should be testable, focused, and scientifically developed.5 He moved on to contrast systems science models, which he described as quantitative simulation approaches, compared with systems maps, which he described as qualitative pictures that can be useful despite limitations such as not being problem focused. Referencing an ongoing academic debate about the appropriate roles of qualitative maps and group model building6 in systems science efforts, Homer summarized that both approaches have value in enriching the modeling process, but have limitations such as the inability to predict behavior.
From page 3...
... This began by convening the initiative's first annual summit, Farrey recalled, highlighted by a call to action around the value of youth sports to promote physical activity and public health. Since then, Project Play has conducted "state of play" audits that help communities assess where they are and how they could design investments and policies and mobilize stakeholders to activate and improve the quality of play in their communities.
From page 4...
... Lee described a suite of systems science models called Virtual Population Obesity Prevention (VPOP) , developed by PHICOR, to illustrate its utility to help decision makers better grapple with the complexity of diet- or physical activity–related problems and their potential solutions for stakeholders engaged in Project Play.
From page 5...
... The speakers, who took turns presenting as they covered different portions of the presentation, included Lee, who also spoke in a previous panel; Joel Gittelsohn, professor in the Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Sarah Buzogany, food resilience planner, Baltimore Food Policy Initiative, Baltimore City Department of Planning. Lee briefly described the Global Obesity Prevention Center, previously housed at Johns Hopkins University, and its goal to use different types of systems science approaches, including mapping and modeling, to understand the complex system of factors involved in the obesity epidemic.
From page 6...
... Gittelsohn elaborated on the Global Obesity Prevention Center's use of a systems science agent-based model called BLIFE (Baltimore Low Income Food Environment) , an acronym that he said was modified to provide evidence in support of the potential impact of the proposed urban agriculture tax credit.
From page 7...
... The outcomes of interest were healthy eating and mobility/transport in Latin American cities, he continued, which the policy stakeholders explored through scripted activities to introduce systems thinking and work toward mapping systems. Langellier explained that the first scripted activity, graphs over time, was intended to engage participants in framing a problem, initiating mapping, generating variables, and ranking the priority of variables as preparation for creating causal loop diagrams.
From page 8...
... Sara Czaja, professor of gerontology and director of the Center on Aging and Behavioral Research at Weill Cornell Medicine and emeritus professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami, spoke to the importance of leveraging partnerships and multidisciplinary teams to address complex challenges. She observed that systems science approaches involve the interplay of multisector stakeholders, and urged early planning for how these layers of participants will communicate effectively despite coming from different arenas.
From page 9...
... Next, Mabry elaborated on the complexity of behavioral and social science problems and the associated challenges of applying systems science approaches to these topics. Challenges include getting appropriate sources of data, particularly longitudinal data; maintaining stakeholder engagement; dealing with impatience to produce actionable results, particularly for policy makers who have limited time in office; building interdisciplinary teams and communicating across disciplinary boundaries; doing what one knows instead of learning what one should do (i.e., lack of selfefficacy)
From page 10...
... These included records of prior National Institutes of Health convenings on the topic;11 a theme issue of the American Journal of Public Health;12 Donella Meadows's book, Thinking in Systems: A Primer;13 the SIPHER (systems science in public health and health economics research) Consortium;14 and the CSART (computer simulation and advanced research technologies)
From page 11...
... Lauren Shern, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine served as the review coordinator. SPONSORS: This workshop was partially supported by Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Alliance for a Healthier Generation; American Academy of Pediatrics; American College of Sports Medicine; American Council on Exercise; American Society for Nutrition; Banner Health; Bipartisan Policy Center; BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation; General Mills, Inc.; Intermountain Healthcare; The JPB Foundation; The Kresge Foundation; Mars, Inc.; National Recreation and Park Association; Nemours; Novo Nordisk; Obesity Action Coalition; The Obesity Society; Partnership for a Healthier America; Reinvestment Fund; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; SHAPE America; Society of Behavioral Medicine; Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center; Walmart; WW International; and YMCA.


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