Shifting the obesity epidemic in Iberia-Latin American cities: applying interdisciplinary, intersectional and intersectoral approaches to understand and change key obesogenic causes

More than half of the worldwide population (55%) is overweight or obese (O/O), while the increasing trends are leading to shorten life expectancy.

Tackling O/O is a European priority, and innovative actions to achieve this are urgently needed: no country has so far succeeded in reducing its growth.

O/O are related to several axes of social inequality, such as socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, age, and place of residence. O/O are more frequent in more unequal societies and increase with urbanisation. The highly urbanised Iberia-Latin American region has strong historical, political, economic and cultural bonds.

However, this region has also considerable heterogeneity in the degree of social and gender inequalities (SGI), urbanisation, and in the prevalence of O/O. Thus, this transnational scenario holds great potential for the analysis of the urban SGI in O/O.

The overall objective of this project is to develop an analytical model to assess the determinants of SGI in O/O in the Iberia-Latin American cities over a recent time period, and to inform urban policies by integrating interdisciplinary, intersectional and intersectoral approaches.

A mixed methods study design will be applied, with a cross-sectional multi-city study followed by a public policy analysis and the development of recommendations for polices and interventions to address SGI in O/O. A gender perspective will be adopted throughout all the action.

The novel integration of these approaches will contribute to tackling urban SGI in O/O by providing a more comprehensive understanding of its drivers and by finding new avenues for improving equity-based urban policies. The project will also provide insights to reshape O/O as a systemic problem worldwide.

Moreover, the action will have a key impact on my career development, on the institutions involved, and on relevant target audiences (researchers, practitioners, policy makers) as well as on the wider community.