The article by Gore and Kotari in the January/February issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health1 highlighted the difference between environmental and structural approaches to improving health and reducing health inequities through an analysis of Farm to School health promotion initiatives. Unfortunately, the article implied that structural approaches (i.e., system level policy changes) ar...

It has been established that social processes play an important role in achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but there are still gaps in the knowledge on how to apply such processes in behavior change interventions. One of these mechanisms is social comparison, i.e. the tendency to self-evaluate by comparing oneself to others. Social comparison can be either downward or upward, depend...

ISSUES ADDRESSED Community-based programs that affect healthy environments and policies have emerged as an effective response to high obesity levels in populations. Apart from limited individual reports, little is currently known about these programs, limiting the potential to provide effective support, to promote effective practice, prevent adverse outcomes and disseminate intervention results...