Location, Location, Location: Places to Intervene in Systems

Abstract

As we saw in the previous chapter, public policy has multiple roles to play in disease prevention. An important role is to create supportive environments in which it becomes easy to make healthy choices in both energy intake and energy expenditure. While this will be very helpful (almost necessary) in obesity prevention, reengineering our environment will not, by itself, be enough. Reducing the national waistline will require a “metanoic” jump (see Chapter 1),¹⁰⁴ entailing new ways of thinking and acting in managing our instincts, even as we reengineer our environment.