Obesity in the 21st Century: Public Health Perspectives and Population Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

Obesity is one of the most pressing global public health challenges of the 21st century. Its rapid rise across both high- and low-income countries is driven by complex, interrelated factors including urbanization, sedentary lifestyles, dietary transitions, socioeconomic disparities, and environmental influences. As obesity continues to fuel a cascade of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, and musculoskeletal disorders, there is an urgent need for population-level, systems-oriented solutions. 

This Special Issue seeks to provide a platform for original research and review articles that examine the population health implications of obesity and propose multilevel strategies for prevention, management, and policy response. 

We welcome submissions from a broad range of public health perspectives, including but not limited to 

• Social and structural determinants of obesity; 
• Health systems and policy responses; 
• Community and environmental interventions; 
• Life-course approaches to obesity prevention; 
• Health promotion and education; 
• Urban planning, food systems, and built environment;
• Economic evaluations of obesity-related interventions; 
• Cultural and indigenous perspectives; 
• Technological and digital health approaches; 
• Multidisciplinary, intersectoral, and equity-focused work is particularly encouraged. 

We invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to contribute evidence that informs action and translates knowledge into meaningful population health outcomes. We welcome high-quality original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, commentaries, and perspectives that contribute to a deeper understanding of obesity burden and offer practical or policy-oriented solutions. 

Dr. Ritesh Chimoriya
Dr. Kritika Rana
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Obesities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 1200 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.