[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 55846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25335]



[[Page 55846]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


NIH Pathways to Prevention Workshop: Methods for Evaluating 
Natural Experiments in Obesity

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host a workshop 
about Methods for Evaluating Natural Experiments in Obesity on December 
5-6, 2017. The workshop is free and open to the public.

DATES: December 5, 2017 from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and December 6, 
2017 from 8:15 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the NIH, Natcher Conference 
Center, Building 45, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. 
Registration and workshop information are available on the NIH Office 
of Disease Prevention (ODP) Web site at https://prevention.nih.gov/P2PObesity.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning 
this workshop, contact Kate Winseck at [email protected], 6100 
Executive Blvd., Room 2B03, MSC 7523, Bethesda, MD 20892-7523; 
Telephone: 301-827-5561; FAX: 301-480-7660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Obesity is a major contributor to serious 
health conditions in children and adults. The prevalence of obesity in 
the United States and globally has grown rapidly in the last three 
decades; thus, there is a pressing need to help people achieve and 
maintain a healthy weight.
    Obesity and obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes and 
certain types of cancers contribute to increased morbidity and 
mortality across the lifespan, resulting in a significant public health 
and economic burden. In 2008, the medical costs in the United States 
for individuals with obesity were $1,429 higher than for those with 
normal weight, resulting in an estimated annual medical cost of $147 
billion (CDC).
    Much is already known about obesity, including many of its 
proximate causes:
     Poor-quality diet
     Overconsumption of calories
     Lack of physical activity
     Excessive sedentary time
    However, because multiple factors (lifestyle, socioeconomics, the 
environment, etc.) contribute to obesity, it remains an exceedingly 
complex condition to study.
    Major gaps exist in our understanding of appropriate and effective 
societal and systems changes to achieve a healthier energy balance 
(intake [calories] vs. output [activity]) for individuals. In part, 
these gaps are related to the amount of research completed to date and 
to methodological challenges, which range from measuring environmental 
influences on the causes of obesity to designing and implementing 
practical and rigorous evaluations of natural experiments. Studies of 
natural experiments can allow insights into the effects that programs, 
interventions, or policies have on health-related outcomes including 
obesity. In obesity prevention research, these include:
     Effects of investments in transportation infrastructure 
such as light rail or bike share programs
     Changes in the food environment, such as construction of 
new food retail outlets in food deserts or support for farmers' markets
     Consequences of economic policies such as taxes and 
subsidies, particularly those addressing low-income and at-risk 
populations
     Changes within organizations such as schools or workplaces
     Changes in health care systems related to prevention of 
obesity.
    Evaluating natural experiments in obesity prevention has seen 
growing support and interest. However, incomplete development and lack 
of standardization in study designs, data collection methods, and 
statistical approaches present significant challenges to this research. 
Closing gaps in obesity prevention research has the potential to 
advance the field and effect change in obesity prevention nationally.
    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is engaging in a rigorous 
assessment of the available scientific evidence to better understand 
appropriate, high-quality natural experiment research designs in the 
field of obesity prevention and control. The NIH Office of Disease 
Prevention (ODP); National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Heart, 
Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); and National Institute of Diabetes 
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) are sponsoring the Pathways 
to Prevention Workshop: Methods for Evaluating Natural Experiments in 
Obesity on December 5-6, 2017, in Bethesda, Maryland. The workshop 
seeks to clarify the following questions:
    1. What population-based data sources have been used in studies of 
how programs, policies, or built environment changes affect or are 
associated with obesity prevention and control outcomes?
    2. What methods have been used to link different population-based 
data sources?
    3. What obesity measures, dietary and physical behaviors, and other 
outcomes have been assessed in studies of how programs, policies, or 
built environment changes affect or are associated with obesity 
prevention and control?
    4. Which experimental and non-experimental methods have been used 
in studies of how programs, policies, or built environment changes 
affect or are associated with obesity prevention and control outcomes?
    5. What are the risks of bias in studies of how programs, policies, 
or built environment changes affect or are associated with obesity 
prevention and control outcomes?
    6. What methodological/analytic advances (e.g., data system 
features, approaches to linking data sources, or analytic methods) 
would help to strengthen efforts to estimate the effect of programs, 
policies, or built environment changes on obesity prevention and 
control?
    During the 1\1/2\-day workshop, experts discuss the state of the 
science, an evidence report prepared by an Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center is presented, and 
attendees provide comments during open discussion periods. After 
weighing all evidence, an unbiased, independent panel prepares a draft 
report that identifies research gaps and future research priorities. 
The draft report is posted on the ODP Web site for public comment. 
After reviewing the public comments, the panel prepares a final report, 
which is also posted on the ODP Web site. The ODP then convenes a 
Federal Partners Meeting to review the panel report and identify 
possible opportunities for collaboration.

    Please Note:  As part of measures to ensure the safety of NIH 
employees and property, all visitors must be prepared to show a 
photo ID upon request. Visitors may be required to pass through a 
metal detector and have bags, backpacks, or purses inspected or X-
rayed as they enter the NIH campus. For more information about the 
security measures at the NIH, please visit http://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm.


    Dated: November 15, 2017.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2017-25335 Filed 11-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P