Obesity is a major contributor to many serious health conditions that increase morbidity and mortality and reduce quality of life. The prevalence of obesity in children and adults in the United States has dramatically increased in the past four decades. Nationally there is an imperative to take action at local, state and federal levels, especially related to obesity in children. While helping people achieve and maintain a healthy weight is a critical public health goal, relatively little is known about the effectiveness of large scale policies and programs that could help achieve this goal at the population level, or any differential effects on sub-populations. As noted in the 2010 Institute Of Medicine (IOM) report, Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention: A Framework to Inform Decision Making (http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Bridging-the-Evidence-Gap-in-Obesity-Prevention-A-Framework-to-Inform-Decision-Making.aspx), rigorous scientific evaluation of these policies and programs can help build an evidence base to better inform policy public health approaches to prevent excess weight gain and/or improve weight management .
For the purposes of this FOA:
Policy is broadly defined to include both formal public policies at local, state and federal levels of government, and organizational level policies, such as those implemented by large organizations, worksites or school districts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the development of supermarkets in underserved areas, calorie labeling requirements, taxes on foods and/or beverages, after-school and summer programs, modification of the built (or human-made) environments to encourage walking or cycling for transportation or leisure.
Program is defined as a set of activities initiated by governmental or other organizational bodies to enhance obesity prevention and control. Examples might include programs implemented worksites, healthcare organizations, after-school or summer programs, or communities that can be expected to improve obesity related behaviors such as energy intake and activity level. This FOA is not intended to support the initiation and delivery of new programs; rather, it is intended to support evaluation of the effectiveness of programs and/or policies that are being or will be implemented regardless of NIH grant funding.
The obesity program or policy to be evaluated should reasonably be expected to affect behaviors relevant to obesity such as energy intake, sedentary behavior, or physical activity in the target population. Further, research proposed in response to this FOA should demonstrate that measures collected and evaluated will allow for meaningful and scientifically valid conclusions to be made about the effects of the policy or program on the target behaviors and/or weight.
Examples of appropriate studies include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Introduction of food or beverage taxes/subsidies/price changes/other incentives;
- Infrastructure initiatives such as retailers offering healthier food options in underserved areas;
- Changes to workplace food and/or physical activity environment;
- Polices expected to influence available options and purchasing, such as calorie labeling in restaurants, menu or food product reformulation, and supermarket layout or pricing strategies;
- Significant changes in policy or practice in large healthcare organizations that are expected to improve weight outcomes; such as changes in reimbursement, incentives, or wide scale implementation of prevention or treatment services;
- Modifications to the built environment to encourage active transportation or leisure physical activity, such as the implementation of bike lanes in urban areas, multi-use trails, subsidies for public transit, upgrades of sidewalks, or improved access to parks and recreation facilities.
Note: The focus of this FOA is on research in humans, not animals.
Primary outcomes under study should be assessed using objective measures, or in the case of dietary intake, by using standardized and comprehensive 24-hour recall methods. Examples of acceptable primary outcomes include objective measures of behavior change (purchasing behavior, use of resources intended for physical activity, energy intake with a focus on lowered calories or lower calorie substitutions, activity changes such as reduced sedentary behavior or increased physical activity) and/or weight related variables (e.g. BMI, body composition). Other self-reported measures of dietary intake and physical activity can be included but should not be the primary outcome measure/s.
Where possible and relevant, grant applications should include secondary outcomes that evaluate potential unintended consequences of a policy or program, degree of implementation, and an assessment of barriers and facilitators associated with implementation. This includes measures that will help identify why the policy or program succeeds or does not succeed.
This FOA encourages innovative scientific partnerships between researchers and public or private partners (e.g., community based organizations, local governments, school districts, employers). Where possible, applicants should provide letters of support from those who hold ownership or management of the program and/or policy that indicate their full cooperation with the research team. This should include support for access to the data required for the evaluation. Where appropriate, agreements must also be in place that allow for unrestricted publication of findings regardless of study outcomes. Research applications that include comparison group/s must include letters of support/agreement for access to the comparison group.
Institute Specific Interests:
NIDDK: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases is particularly interested in the evaluation of large scale weight related programs or policy that are targeted to obesity and/or diabetes prevention.
NHLBI: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is especially interested in research on programs and policies that target cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and adverse health behaviors (physical inactivity, poor dietary behaviors, sleep disorders).
NICHD: The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is interested in applications that propose to evaluate the impact of weight related policies or programs on children, families, pregnant women, or children with disabilities.
NCI: The National Cancer Institute is particularly interested in the evaluation of programs or policies that may affect dietary or physical activity behavior and/or weight, and studies incorporating economic research.
NIA: The National Institute on Aging is especially interested in research on programs and policies affecting sedentary behavior and physical activity among older adults, including programs and policies based on research in behavioral economics.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Scientific/Research Contact(s)listed in this FOA to discuss their planned research prior to submission to this announcement.
Given the possibility for changes in policy or program implementation that are beyond the control of the grantee, grant awards may be terminated early if these changes limit the possibility to collect meaningful outcome data.
Submission Deadline is October 5, 2013
For the full RFA click here.
