Are ‘Behaviour Change’ Approaches to Obesity and Health Effective? A case Study from Samoa

Abstract

‘Behaviour Change’ approaches in public health strategies have been used in Pacific Island countries to address the problem of dietary and lifestyle changes that are believed to be the cause of rising rates of obesity and associated NCDS. We consider the limitations of this approach in the context of Samoa’s socioeconomic situation and public health policy and propose that an ‘obesogenic’ environment and structural factors are causational and require policy measures that go beyond the scope of responsibilities of the Samoa Ministry of Health