A Public-Private Partnership Model for Obesity Prevention

In the January 2009 issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, McDermott et al (1) and Harris et al (2) offer a glimpse of the potential to work across sectors to generate solutions for the obesity epidemic. Obesity has persisted in the United States and is increasing worldwide despite years of research to combat it. In this issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, we have proposed, through a series of articles, a systems-oriented, multilevel framework to realign strategies and resources to address this public health problem. A key feature of this framework is building capacity across the public and private sectors to mobilize a coordinated effort to change the environment that constrains healthy behaviors, such as healthy diet and physical activity, and enables unhealthy ones. We argue that public health must collaborate not only with government organizations, community coalitions, academia, and mass media but also the corporations that control and shape our food system.