Linked to many of the biggest health challenges of our time - heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers, and more - overeating represents one of the leading preventable causes of premature death, both domestically and increasingly around the globe. Understanding why people overeat requires an understanding of the food system - the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Public health professionals have important roles to play in shaping the food system, including participating in the public debate over issues such as junk food taxes, farm subsidies, food assistance programs, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and factory farms. This course explores how public policies, private businesses, individual decisions, and social norms combine to shape our food system and dietary behaviors, as well as exploring the public health response to this health crisis.

Linked to many of the biggest health challenges of our time - heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers, and more - overeating represents one of the leading preventable causes of premature death, both domestically and increasingly around the globe. Understanding why people overeat requires an understanding of the food system - the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Public health professionals have important roles to play in shaping the food system, including participating in the public debate over issues such as junk food taxes, farm subsidies, food assistance programs, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and factory farms. This course explores how public policies, private businesses, individual decisions, and social norms combine to shape our food system and dietary behaviors, as well as exploring the public health response to this health crisis.