2nd Edition: Digital and Community-Based Interventions to Address Determinants of Food-Related Behaviors to Reduce Obesity and Chronic Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Food-related behaviors (e.g., food choice, purchasing, preparation, consumption, eating patterns, nutrient intake) are influenced by a range of factors at the individual, familial, community, societal and policy level. These factors are often situated within Social Determinants of Health—ultimately impacting health and wellbeing (e.g., obesity, chronic disease). Due to systemic inequities, historically marginalized, underserved, and vulnerable populations experience these impacts and disparities at higher rates, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating them further. We propose a call to action for not only research innovation, but also ensuring that research methods are designed, implemented, and disseminated in ways that resonate with (and reach) the intended population(s). 

Building upon the research of scholars in the first edition of this special issue, in this second edition we invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit digital, non-digital, and community-based research that: 1)  aims to address determinants of food-related behaviors; and/or 2) within the context of the theme, describes culturally informed/responsive research methods used to better design, implement, and disseminate solutions to the population(s) of interest.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the theme, manuscripts from the fields of nutrition, behavior science, public health, psychology, urban planning, and sociology, among others will be considered as long as the research aligns with the theme of the Special Issue.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jylana L. Sheats
Dr. Elvin Thomaseo Burton
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• social determinants
• eating behavior
• physical activity
• digital health
• culturally-relevant intervention
• community-based
• systemic inequities
• build environment
• food environment
• historically marginalized populations