Overweight and obesity in Asia and the Pacific: determinants, consequences, and policies for better health

ADBI Workshop on Overweight and Obesity in Asia and the Pacific: Determinants, Consequences, and Policies for Better Health

Koror, Palau — 17-18 August 2016

In recent years, the Asia and Pacific region has recorded high rates not only of economic growth, but also of overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity are important risk factors for various chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancer. Both conditions are typically chronic and often require lifelong treatment, which weighs heavily on the health spending both of households and governments. Furthermore, both conditions reduce productivity and thus have a direct impact on economic output. Yet, for many governments in the region the problem of overweight and obesity is new and not yet well understood.

The ADBI is therefore looking for original/unpublished scientific papers that shed new light on the topic of overweight and obesity in Asia and the Pacific. All papers should be based on sound theoretical and/or empirical evidence.

The papers should be related to, though not limited to, one the following topics:

  • Determinants of overweight and obesity across countries or within countries across different stratifications (age, gender, education, income, rural/urban, etc.) as well as across time.
  • Country studies on the cost of illness, including the costs for health systems as well as the economic costs (including macroeconomic impact) of overweight and obesity.
  • Case studies of experiences to reduce overweight and obesity implementing non-market (such as education) or market measures (such as sugar tax).

Important dates:

  • Deadline for submission of complete paper(s): 17 June 2016
  • Decisions by Academic Committee on submissions: 24 June 2016
  • Workshop date: 17-18 August 2016

ADBI will meet the travel and accommodation costs of one author per selected paper to present at the workshop. Accepted papers will be considered for a special issue of an SSCI journal and/or a book volume.

Submissions should be emailed to: Matthias Helble, Research Economist, mhelble@adbi.org. Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo, Japan.

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Camilla Burkot

Camilla Burkot was a Research Officer at the Development Policy Centre, and Editor of the Devpolicy Blog, from 2015 to 2017. She has a background in social anthropology and holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, and has field experience in Eastern and Southern Africa, and PNG. She now works for the Burnet Institute.

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