Global warming and obesity: a systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Global warming and the obesity epidemic represent significant contemporary challenges.
• Understanding the interplay between these two global issues is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize existing literature on the relationship between global warming and the obesity epidemic.
• To develop a conceptual model illustrating the bidirectional influences between these phenomena.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was performed across major scientific databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Scopus) up to July 2017.
• Fifty relevant studies were identified and categorized based on the nature of their findings regarding the global warming-obesity relationship.

Main Results:

• Studies revealed four main types of relationships: common drivers (21 studies), global warming influencing obesity (13 studies), obesity influencing global warming (13 studies), and bidirectional influence (3 studies).
• A conceptual model was constructed, highlighting how factors like fossil fuel economy, population growth, and industrialization drive both phenomena through mechanisms such as greenhouse gas emissions, nutrition transition, and physical inactivity.
• Global warming directly impacts obesity via food supply shocks and adaptive thermogenesis, while the obesity epidemic contributes to global warming through increased energy consumption.

Conclusions:

• The relationship between global warming and the obesity epidemic is complex and bidirectional, driven by interconnected socioeconomic and environmental factors.
• Policy interventions promoting clean energy and active urban lifestyles are essential for addressing both global warming and the obesity epidemic simultaneously.