Are integrated approaches working to promote healthy weights and prevent obesity and chronic disease

In the early stages of research, the researchers and potential end-users should work together in a formalised, resourced manner such as a tele- conference, to identify the intended audience of the work, and the appropriate dissemination strategy; for example, alignment with national and/or provincial chronic disease prevention alliances. [...] Based on these understandings, we conducted a critical review and synthesis of the published scientific literature and of the “grey” literature (including government and organisational websites), on integrated, whole-population approaches to the prevention of excess weight gain and related chronic diseases. [...] Descriptive Models of Integration, in the Specific Context of Obesity In the above section, we described how integration is presented in the health literatures, in a general sense. [...] This is an advantage, in light of the historical emphasis on attributes measured and conceptualised at the individual level (e.g., diet, exercise behaviour), in the majority of the existing literature. [...] However, the ecological metaphor evoked by these frameworks has been criticised (Krieger, 1994) for placing the individual at the centre of a diverse collection of influences, and thereby perpetuating the view that influences in closest proximity to the individual (i.e., downstream factors such as diet and physical activity behaviour, conceptualised at the individual level) are the most important