Government's Role in Promoting Healthy Living

Worldwide, poor lifestyle behaviors, including obesity, physical inactivity, and low diet quality, are creating an unstainable burden of chronic disease with disparities across geography, race, income, education, and sex. Government plays an important role in addressing lifestyle behaviors and population health, reducing health disparities and chronic disease. Areas for government involvement include surveillance, research, programming, access to health care, quality assurance and guidelines for diet and physical activity (PA). Some view government as paternalistic and favor individual choice; however, there is opportunity to unite diverse approaches with government working across sectors and engaging the private sector. The paper will conclude with specific evidence-based policy approaches to address obesity, nutrition, PA and tobacco use.