Abstract

Purpose: Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States, and interventions developed to date have not been sufficient to solve it. The influence of obesity worldwide has been on the rise with several impacts on the health and economic condition of affected individuals. This study conducts a systematic review and applies the socio-ecological model (SEM) to do a narrative synthesis of the impacts of the different levels of determinants (and their interaction) on adult and child obesity.

Methods: This study paper seeks to add more evidence and uncover missed research areas by synthesizing existing evidence in systematic reviews and meta-analyses within the SEM and identifying levels that have not been studied extensively. Four electronic databases were searched for relevant articles until August 2020.

Results: 84 articles were included in this review for the narrative synthesis. The analysis showed that 41.67% of studies addressed the individual level of the determinant, 20.24% the interpersonal level, 11.90% the community level, and 2.38% addressed aspects from the societal & policy level. It was also found in this study that interactions between the individual (genetics) and interpersonal (relationships) levels are viable pointers as to why there is a difference in the development of obesity among individuals living in the same environment.

Conclusion: This paper further highlights that incorporating multiple levels of the SEM has a greater impact on designing interventions to reduce the impact of obesity risk factors.