Learning from the roundtable on obesity solutions experiences: A 10-year anniversary point of view.

Abstract

The Roundtable on Obesity Solutions (ROOS), established in 2014, is a unique organization of multisectoral voices addressing the public health challenge of obesity. The ROOS brings together practitioners, researchers, funders, companies, health systems, government agencies, and the lived experience to dialogue and guide the national conversation about the multilevel challenges and opportunities related to obesity. This paper presents insights and key learnings from a symposium developed to celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the ROOS. The first six years (2014-2019) of the ROOS marked a period in which dialogue was initiated, multi-sectoral perspectives were captured, and important viewpoints were deliberated and published. In 2020, the ROOS engaged in a strategic planning process enabled by systems science that ultimately resulted in the creation of a roadmap focused on drivers and solutions of obesity. This roadmap generated an agenda focused on upstream social and structural drivers of obesity with an emphasis on the integration of equity, gaps, strategies, and the lived experience. Three main priorities identified in this roadmap included structural racism, social norms, and health communications. Based on this work, the ROOS has had significant impact in the areas of equity, weight stigma, and the lived experience. Much work remains. To date, obesity solutions available for prevention and treatment have been vastly underutilized. Future directions should: 1) include increasing access to effective prevention and treatment options; 2) a focus on how best to implement new technologies in obesity prevention and care; 3) addressing issues of equity, literacy, and stigma that remain unresolved; and 4) leveraging the influence of regional cultures, policies, and social norms. We hope that insights gained over the previous 10 years will inspire another decade of impact for the ROOS.