Systems Science and Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review and New Directions

Table 1

Systems science properties and nine properties of obesity.

Systems science properties	Obesity properties
Breadth	Obesity prevention and treatment should be considered a common resource allocation problem
Feedback Loops	Obesity shapes and reflects a range of other issues
Dynamic systems in real time	Obesity and its consequences are developmental processes
Interactions of individuals actors	Obesity is a social process involving families, peers, and other individuals
Interactions between multiple levels	Obesity operates within a community environment that moderates family and individual levels
Complex relational structures	Interventions can only be assessed over time and can have unanticipated results
Heterogeneous actors	People are heterogeneous in their biological and behavioral predispositions towards obesity
Spatial	Individuals all have a space within the system
Bounded rationality	Individuals have imperfect knowledge about obesity