A systems thinking framework for understanding rising childhood obesity in the Caribbean.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to develop a systems thinking framework to describe the common complexities of childhood obesity in the Caribbean region and identify potential areas of intervention. Group model building (GMB) is a form of systems science. Trained GMB facilitators in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago convened a group of multi-disciplinary stakeholders in a series of virtual meetings in 2021 to elaborate a hypothesis of the system driving childhood obesity represented by causal loop diagrams (CLD). Commonalities and differences between the CLDs from each island were identified and reconciled to create a synthesized CLD. A single explanatory CLD across the islands was developed and includes nine reinforcing loops. These loops addressed the interco

SUBMITTER: Guariguata L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11337753 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature