Determining strategies to combat obesity: analysis of G7 countries with WENSLO and EDAS methods

Proposing the optimal strategies to combat obesity for the health systems is a challenging task as there are many intertwined factors influencing it. Thus, huge responsibility is bestowed on the decision makers to identify the most suitable strategies to minimize obesity. This study is designed around the question: "What are the relative importance levels of the key factors to be considered in the fight against obesity, and how do G7 countries rank in terms of their performance in relation to these factors?" The study aims to address the main factors influencing obesity and to effectively prioritize them. In thus paper, two multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods, i.e. weights by envelope and slope (WENSLO) and evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) are integrated in picture fuzzy environment to propose the most appropriate strategies to combat obesity in the G7 countries. The corresponding weights of the considered strategies are evaluated using WENSLO, while they are ranked based on EDAS. For selection of the experts to provide their judgments, the Hartigan-Wong algorithm is adopted. The findings from the study reveals that the most important criterion that the decision makers should consider while proposing strategies to prevent obesity is nutrition habits (w = 330), followed by physical activity and lifestyle (w = 193), and socioeconomic factors (w = 128). Based on the derived results, it is thought that educational policies regarding nutritional habits of the individuals can be an important step in preventing obesity. In addition, it is also important to implement policies to increase physical activity. Among the considered G7 countries, Japan appears as the most successful one and can be benchmarked for the remaining countries struggling with this issue.