The use of nudging strategies in obesity management

Peer reviewed / Manuscript (overview) submitted: 8 April 2024; revision accepted: 8 September 2024

A scoping review

Introduction

Obesity is a chronic disease that poses serious physical and psychological health risks for those affected [1–5]. The high and steadily rising prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide has made it both a societal challenge and a major public health concern of our time [6, 7]. Recent studies indicate that 54% of the German population is overweight (including obesity), and 19% meet the criteria for obesity [8]. This situation was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic [9]. The financial consequences for the healthcare system are immense: in Germany, the annual costs for treating obesity, including comorbidities, are estimated at around €63 billion [10].

Nudging interventions, that encourage individuals towards health-promoting behaviors, could serve as a cost-effective addition to conventional treatment options for overweight and obesity. Outside the specific treatment context, nudges have already been used frequently in the field of nutrition and have shown positive effects [11–14], especially in reinforcing healthy behaviors in schools, supermarkets, office buildings, hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias, or military facilities [12]. These interventions have the potential to increase healthy choices regarding a balanced diet and healthier food selection by an average of up to 15% (95% confidence interval: 8%–23%) [14], and they may also help reduce total energy intake [14]. However, these findings do not explicitly focus on individuals with overweight or obesity. Nutrition goals of nudging interventions include influencing food choices and portion sizes, as well as affecting product selection and purchase decisions [11–14]. ...

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