ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical linkages between so-called contextual factors and obesity. Obesogenic' or leptogenic' are terms that have been coined recently to describe environments that raise or lower the risk of overweight and obesity in populations. The ANalysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework was developed to conceptualize obesogenic environments, and draws upon the environmental emphasis in earlier work in the Host-Agent-Environment epidemiologic triad, as well as the Haddon injury prevention matrix. International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) Working Group conceptual model approximates a causal web, linking broad distal factors at the international scale to factors at the national, community, and work levels and on to more proximal factors at the individual-level. Social capital has been defined as the features of social organization, including social trust, civic participation, and norms of reciprocity that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit.
