Focusing on prevention rather than treatment, Obesity: Dietary and Developmental Influences reviews and evaluates the determinants of obesity. The book uses evidence-based research as a basis to define foods and dietary behaviors that should be supported and encouraged as well as those that should be discouraged. This comprehensive review represents a critical step forward in the quest to identify actionable strategies to prevent obesity.

The book describes the potential role of 26 different dietary factors and 8 developmental periods in the prevention of obesity among children and adults. The dietary factors examined include macronutrients, micronutrients, specific types of foods and beverages, snack and meal patterns, portion size, parenting practices, breastfeeding, and more. The factors from each developmental period in the life cycle are examined in the context of the likelihood of obesity development. For each dietary factor and developmental period, four lines of evidence are examined: secular trends, plausible mechanisms, observational studies, and prevention trials.

Providing easy access to information, the book features 38 tables that summarize observational studies, 38 graphs depicting trends in dietary intake, and 9 tables that summarize prevention trials. It provides a synopsis of the latest research on obesity, investigating all major lines of evidence, and clarifies common misconceptions while identifying which behaviors to target and which dietary factors show the most promise for prevention.