Uncovering physical activity trade-offs in transportation policy: A spatial agent-based model of Bogotá, Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Transportation policies can impact health outcomes while simultaneously promoting social equity and environmental sustainability. We developed an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the impacts of fare subsidies and congestion taxes on commuter decision-making and travel patterns. We report effects on mode share, travel time and transport-related physical activity (PA), including the variability of effects by socioeconomic strata (SES), and the trade-offs that may need to be considered in the implementation of these policies in a context with high levels of necessity-based physical activity. METHODS: The ABM design was informed by local stakeholder engagement. The demographic and spatial characteristics of the in-silico city, and its residents, were informed by local surveys and empirical studies. We used ridership and travel time data from the 2019 Bogotá Household Travel Survey to calibrate and validate the model by SES. We then explored the impacts of fare subsidy and congestion tax policy scenarios. RESULTS: Our model reproduced commuting patterns observed in Bogotá, including substantial necessity-based walking for transportation. At the city-level, congestion taxes fractionally reduced car use, including among mid-to-high SES groups but not among low SES commuters. Neither travel times nor physical activity levels were impacted at the city level or by SES. Comparatively, fare subsidies promoted city-level public transportation (PT) ridership, particularly under a 'free-fare' scenario, largely through reductions in walking trips. 'Free fare' policies also led to a large reduction in very long walking times and an overall reduction in the commuting-based attainment of physical activity guidelines. Differential effects were observed by SES, with free fares promoting PT ridership primarily among low-and-middle SES groups. These shifts to PT reduced median walking times among all SES groups, particularly low-SES groups. Moreover, the proportion of low-to-mid SES commuters meeting weekly physical activity recommendations decreased under the 'freefare' policy, with no change observed among high-SES groups. CONCLUSIONS: Transport policies can differentially impact SES-level disparities in necessity-based walking and travel times. Understanding these impacts is critical in shaping transportation policies that balance the dual aims of reducing SES-level disparities in travel time (and time poverty) and the promotion of choice-based physical activity.

Community coalition efforts to prevent childhood obesity: two-year results of the Shape Up Under 5 study.

BACKGROUND: Cross-sector collaborations and coalitions are promising approaches for childhood obesity prevention, yet there is little empirical evidence about how they affect change. We hypothesized that changes in knowledge of, and engagement with, childhood obesity prevention among coalition members can diffuse through social networks to influence policies, systems, and environments. METHODS: We studied a community coalition (N = 16, Shape Up Under 5 "SUU5 Committee") focused on early childhood obesity prevention in Somerville, MA from 2015-17. Knowledge, engagement, and social network data were collected from Committee members and their network contacts (n = 193) at five timepoints over two years. Policy, systems, and environment data were collected from the SUU5 Committee. Data were collected via the validated COMPACT Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion survey and analyzed using regression models and social network analysis. RESULTS: Over 2 years, knowledge of (p = 0.0002), and engagement with (p = 0.03), childhood obesity prevention increased significantly among the SUU5 Committee. Knowledge increased among the Committee's social network (p = 0.001). Significant changes in policies, systems, and environments that support childhood obesity prevention were seen from baseline to 24 months (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: SUU5 had positive effects on "upstream" drivers of early childhood obesity by increasing knowledge and engagement. These changes partially diffused through networks and may have changed "midstream" community policies, systems, and environments.

Potential impacts of policies to reduce purchasing of ultra-processed foods in Mexico at different stages of the social transition: an agent-based modelling approach.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a simulation framework for assessing how combinations of taxes, nutrition warning labels and advertising levels could affect purchasing of ultra-processed foods (UPF) in Latin American countries and to understand whether policies reinforce or reduce pre-existing social disparities in UPF consumption. DESIGN: We developed an agent-based simulation model using international evidence regarding the effect of price, nutrition warning labels and advertising on UPF purchasing. SETTING: We estimated policy effects in scenarios representing two stages of the 'social transition' in UPF purchasing: (1) a pre-transition scenario, where UPF purchasing is higher among high-income households, similar to patterns in Mexico; and (2) a post-transition scenario where UPF purchasing is highest among low-income households, similar to patterns in Chile. PARTICIPANTS: A population of 1000 individual agents with levels of age, income, educational attainment and UPF purchasing similar to adult women in Mexico. RESULTS: A 20 % tax would decrease purchasing by 24 % relative to baseline in both the pre- and post-transition scenarios, an effect that is similar in magnitude to that of a nutrition warning label policy. A 50 % advertising increase or decrease had a comparatively small effect. Nutrition warning labels were most effective among those with higher levels of educational attainment. Labelling reduced inequities in the pre-transition scenario (i.e. highest UPF purchasing among the highest socio-economic group) but widened inequities in the post-transition scenario. CONCLUSIONS: Effective policy levers are available to reduce UPF purchasing, but policymakers should anticipate that equity impacts will differ depending on existing social patterns in UPF purchasing.

A systematic review of empirical and simulation studies evaluating the health impact of transportation interventions.

Urban transportation is an important determinant of health and environmental outcomes, and therefore essential to achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. To better understand the health impacts of transportation initiatives, we conducted a systematic review of longitudinal health evaluations involving: a) bus rapid transit (BRT); b) bicycle lanes; c) Open Streets programs; and d) aerial trams/cable cars. We also synthesized systems-based simulation studies of the health-related consequences of walking, bicycling, aerial tram, bus and BRT use. Two reviewers screened 3302 unique titles and abstracts identified through a systematic search of MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, TRID and LILACS databases. We included 39 studies: 29 longitudinal evaluations and 10 simulation studies. Five studies focused on low- and middle-income contexts. Of the 29 evaluation studies, 19 focused on single component bicycle lane interventions; the rest evaluated multi-component interventions involving: bicycle lanes (n = 5), aerial trams (n = 1), and combined bicycle lane/BRT systems (n = 4). Bicycle lanes and BRT systems appeared effective at increasing bicycle and BRT mode share, active transport duration, and number of trips using these modes. Of the 10 simulation studies, there were 9 agent-based models and one system dynamics model. Five studies focused on bus/BRT expansions and incentives, three on interventions for active travel, and the rest investigated combinations of public transport and active travel policies. Synergistic effects were observed when multiple policies were implemented, with several studies showing that sizable interventions are required to significantly shift travel mode choices. Our review indicates that bicycle lanes and BRT systems represent promising initiatives for promoting population health. There is also evidence to suggest that synergistic effects might be achieved through the combined implementation of multiple transportation policies. However, more rigorous evaluation and simulation studies focusing on low- and middle-income countries, aerial trams and Open Streets programs, and a more diverse set of health and health equity outcomes is required.

Modelling the impact of menthol sales restrictions and retailer density reduction policies: insights from tobacco town Minnesota.

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco control policies focused on the retail environment have the potential to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related health disparities through increasing direct and indirect costs. Recently, national and subnational governments have begun to restrict the sale of menthol products and reduce tobacco retailer density. METHODS: We developed an agent-based model to project the impact of menthol cigarette sales restrictions and retailer density reduction policies for six types of communities and three priority populations. During each simulated day, agents smoke cigarettes, travel in the community and make purchase decisions-whether, where and which product type to purchase-based on a combination of their own properties and the current retail environment. RESULTS: Of the policies tested, restricting all cigarette sales or menthol cigarette sales to tobacco specialty shops may have the largest effect on the total (direct and indirect) costs of purchasing cigarettes. Coupling one of these policies with one that establishes a minimum distance between tobacco retailers may enhance the impact. Combining these policies could also make the costs of acquiring cigarettes more equal across communities and populations. DISCUSSION: Our simulations revealed the importance of context, for example, lower income communities in urban areas begin with higher retailer density and may need stronger policies to show impact, as well as the need to focus on differential effects for priority populations, for example, combinations of policies may equalise the average distance travelled to purchase. Adapting and combining policies could enhance the sustainability of policy effects and reduce tobacco use.

The role of novelty and fat and sugar concentration in food selection by captive tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella).

Capuchins, like other primates, use feedback from sensory cues and digestion to make decisions about which foods to consume and which to avoid. However, little is known about how capuchins make consumption decisions when simultaneously presented with novel and familiar foods, or how food familiarity and macronutrient concentration together influence food choice, topics with potential implications for developmental and health research. In this study, we evaluated the role of familiarity, as well as fat and sugar concentration, in the food selections of captive tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella). In the first experiment, over 10 sessions, subjects were assigned to either a group that chose between one familiar and one novel food item both high in fat or sugar (high condition), or to a group that chose between one familiar and one novel food item both low in fat or sugar (low condition). In the second experiment, subjects were divided into three groups, familiarized with food over five feeding sessions, and then offered the familiarized food and a novel food that varied in fat or sugar for 10 sessions. When offered foods high in fat, capuchins showed no clear signs of neophobia, forming an initial preference for the novel food, rejecting foods less frequently, and selecting foods faster than when offered foods low in fat. These trends were generally not observed in response to foods with sugar. When presented with options that varied in macronutrient concentration, subjects showed an initial interest in the novel food irrespective of whether it was high in fat or sugar, yet formed a final preference for the higher-concentration item. Findings suggest that the concentration of fat or sugar in novel foods may be an important mediator of exploratory behavior and that capuchins rely on immediate feedback from taste and other sensory cues to make consumption decisions.

Development and testing of a novel survey to assess Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion of childhood obesity prevention efforts.

BACKGROUND: Involving groups of community stakeholders (e.g., steering committees) to lead community-wide health interventions appears to support multiple outcomes ranging from policy and systems change to individual biology. While numerous tools are available to measure stakeholder characteristics, many lack detail on reliability and validity, are not context specific, and may not be sensitive enough to capture change over time. This study describes the development and reliability of a novel survey to measure Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion via assessment of stakeholders' social networks, knowledge, and engagement about childhood obesity prevention. METHODS: This study was completed in three phases. Phase 1 included conceptualization and online survey development through literature reviews and expert input. Phase 2 included a retrospective study with stakeholders from two completed whole-of-community interventions. Between May-October 2015, 21 stakeholders from the Shape Up Somerville and Romp & Chomp interventions recalled their social networks, knowledge, and engagement pre-post intervention. We also assessed one-week test-retest reliability of knowledge and engagement survey modules among Shape Up Somerville respondents. Phase 3 included survey modifications and a second prospective reliability assessment. Test-retest reliability was assessed in May 2016 among 13 stakeholders involved in ongoing interventions in Victoria, Australia. RESULTS: In Phase 1, we developed a survey with 7, 20 and 50 items for the social networks, knowledge, and engagement survey modules, respectively. In the Phase 2 retrospective study, Shape Up Somerville and Romp & Chomp networks included 99 and 54 individuals. Pre-post Shape Up Somerville and Romp & Chomp mean knowledge scores increased by 3.5 points (95% CI: 0.35-6.72) and (- 0.42-7.42). Engagement scores did not change significantly (Shape Up Somerville: 1.1 points (- 0.55-2.73); Romp & Chomp: 0.7 points (- 0.43-1.73)). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for knowledge and engagement were 0.88 (0.67-0.97) and 0.97 (0.89-0.99). In Phase 3, the modified knowledge and engagement survey modules included 18 and 25 items, respectively. Knowledge and engagement ICCs were 0.84 (0.62-0.95) and 0.58 (0.23-0.86). CONCLUSIONS: The survey measures upstream stakeholder properties-social networks, knowledge, and engagement-with good test-retest reliability. Future research related to Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion should focus on prospective change and survey validation for intervention effectiveness.

Tobacco Town: Computational Modeling of Policy Options to Reduce Tobacco Retailer Density.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the behavioral mechanisms and effects of tobacco control policies designed to reduce tobacco retailer density. METHODS: We developed the Tobacco Town agent-based simulation model to examine 4 types of retailer reduction policies: (1) random retailer reduction, (2) restriction by type of retailer, (3) limiting proximity of retailers to schools, and (4) limiting proximity of retailers to each other. The model examined the effects of these policies alone and in combination across 4 different types of towns, defined by 2 levels of population density (urban vs suburban) and 2 levels of income (higher vs lower). RESULTS: Model results indicated that reduction of retailer density has the potential to decrease accessibility of tobacco products by driving up search and purchase costs. Policy effects varied by town type: proximity policies worked better in dense, urban towns whereas retailer type and random retailer reduction worked better in less-dense, suburban settings. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive retailer density reduction policies have excellent potential to reduce the public health burden of tobacco use in communities.

Smart food policies for obesity prevention.

Prevention of obesity requires policies that work. In this Series paper, we propose a new way to understand how food policies could be made to work more effectively for obesity prevention. Our approach draws on evidence from a range of disciplines (psychology, economics, and public health nutrition) to develop a theory of change to understand how food policies work. We focus on one of the key determinants of obesity: diet. The evidence we review suggests that the interaction between human food preferences and the environment in which those preferences are learned, expressed, and reassessed has a central role. We identify four mechanisms through which food policies can affect diet: providing an enabling environment for learning of healthy preferences, overcoming barriers to the expression of healthy preferences, encouraging people to reassess existing unhealthy preferences at the point-of-purchase, and stimulating a food-systems response. We explore how actions in three specific policy areas (school settings, economic instruments, and nutrition labelling) work through these mechanisms, and draw implications for more effective policy design. We find that effective food-policy actions are those that lead to positive changes to food, social, and information environments and the systems that underpin them. Effective food-policy actions are tailored to the preference, behavioural, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics of the people they seek to support, are designed to work through the mechanisms through which they have greatest effect, and are implemented as part of a combination of mutually reinforcing actions. Moving forward, priorities should include comprehensive policy actions that create an enabling environment for infants and children to learn healthy food preferences and targeted actions that enable disadvantaged populations to overcome barriers to meeting healthy preferences. Policy assessments should be carefully designed on the basis of a theory of change, using indicators of progress along the various pathways towards the long-term goal of reducing obesity rates.

Mobilisation of public support for policy actions to prevent obesity.

Public mobilisation is needed to enact obesity-prevention policies and to mitigate reaction against their implementation. However, approaches in public health focus mainly on dialogue between public health professionals and political leaders. Strategies to increase popular demand for obesity-prevention policies include refinement and streamlining of public information, identification of effective obesity frames for each population, strengthening of media advocacy, building of citizen protest and engagement, and development of a receptive political environment with change agents embedded across organisations and sectors. Long-term support and investment in collaboration between diverse stakeholders to create shared value is also important. Each actor in an expanded coalition for obesity prevention can make specific contributions to engaging, mobilising, and coalescing the public. The shift from a top-down to a combined and integrated bottom-up and top-down approach would need an overhaul of current strategies and reprioritisation of resources.

Designing an Agent-Based Model for Childhood Obesity Interventions: A Case Study of ChildObesity180.

Complex systems modeling can provide useful insights when designing and anticipating the impact of public health interventions. We developed an agent-based, or individual-based, computation model (ABM) to aid in evaluating and refining implementation of behavior change interventions designed to increase physical activity and healthy eating and reduce unnecessary weight gain among school-aged children. The potential benefits of applying an ABM approach include estimating outcomes despite data gaps, anticipating impact among different populations or scenarios, and exploring how to expand or modify an intervention. The practical challenges inherent in implementing such an approach include data resources, data availability, and the skills and knowledge of ABM among the public health obesity intervention community. The aim of this article was to provide a step-by-step guide on how to develop an ABM to evaluate multifaceted interventions on childhood obesity prevention in multiple settings. We used data from 2 obesity prevention initiatives and public-use resources. The details and goals of the interventions, overview of the model design process, and generalizability of this approach for future interventions is discussed.

A systems science perspective and transdisciplinary models for food and nutrition security.

We argue that food and nutrition security is driven by complex underlying systems and that both research and policy in this area would benefit from a systems approach. We present a framework for such an approach, examine key underlying systems, and identify transdisciplinary modeling tools that may prove especially useful.

Dynamic interplay among homeostatic, hedonic, and cognitive feedback circuits regulating body weight.

Obesity is associated with a prolonged imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, both of which are regulated by multiple feedback processes within and across individuals. These processes constitute 3 hierarchical control systems-homeostatic, hedonic, and cognitive-with extensive interaction among them. Understanding complex eating behavior requires consideration of all 3 systems and their interactions. Existing models of these processes are widely scattered, with relatively few attempts to integrate across mechanisms. We briefly review available empirical evidence and dynamic models, discussing challenges and potential for better integration. We conclude that developing richer models of dynamic interplay among systems should be a priority in the future study of obesity and that systems science modeling offers the potential to aid in this goal.

TRACE-Omicron: Policy Counterfactuals to Inform Mitigation of COVID-19 Spread in the United States.

The Omicron wave was the largest wave of COVID-19 pandemic to date, more than doubling any other in terms of cases and hospitalizations in the United States. In this paper, we present a large-scale agent-based model of policy interventions that could have been implemented to mitigate the Omicron wave. Our model takes into account the behaviors of individuals and their interactions with one another within a nationally representative population, as well as the efficacy of various interventions such as social distancing, mask wearing, testing, tracing, and vaccination. We use the model to simulate the impact of different policy scenarios and evaluate their potential effectiveness in controlling the spread of the virus. Our results suggest the Omicron wave could have been substantially curtailed via a combination of interventions comparable in effectiveness to extreme and unpopular singular measures such as widespread closure of schools and workplaces, and highlight the importance of early and decisive action.

Understanding Misimplementation in U.S. State Health Departments: An Agent-Based Model.

INTRODUCTION: The research goal of this study is to explore why misimplementation occurs in public health agencies and how it can be reduced. Misimplementation is ending effective activities prematurely or continuing ineffective ones, which contributes to wasted resources and suboptimal health outcomes. METHODS: The study team created an agent-based model that represents how information flow, filtered through organizational structure, capacity, culture, and leadership priorities, shapes continuation decisions. This agent-based model used survey data and interviews with state health department personnel across the U.S. between 2014 and 2020; model design and analyses were conducted with substantial input from stakeholders between 2019 and 2021. The model was used experimentally to identify potential approaches for reducing misimplementation. RESULTS: Simulations showed that increasing either organizational evidence-based decision-making capacity or information sharing could reduce misimplementation. Shifting leadership priorities to emphasize effectiveness resulted in the largest reduction, whereas organizational restructuring did not reduce misimplementation. CONCLUSIONS: The model identifies for the first time a specific set of factors and dynamic pathways most likely driving misimplementation and suggests a number of actionable strategies for reducing it. Priorities for training the public health workforce include evidence-based decision making and effective communication. Organizations will also benefit from an intentional shift in leadership decision-making processes. On the basis of this initial, successful application of agent-based model to misimplementation, this work provides a framework for further analyses.

Using Agent-Based Modeling to Extrapolate Community-Wide Impact from a Stakeholder-Driven Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention: Shape Up Under 5.

Objective: Whole-of-community interventions are a promising systems-based approach to childhood obesity prevention. A theorized driver of success is "Stakeholder-Driven Community Diffusion" (SDCD): the spread of knowledge about and engagement with obesity prevention efforts from a committee of stakeholder representatives. We focus on the potential of SDCD to affect the broader community. Methods: We use an agent-based model of SDCD to dynamically represent the interpersonal interactions that drive community diffusion of knowledge and engagement. We test its explanatory power using longitudinal data from a sample of community members and then use simulations to extrapolate from this limited sample to the unobserved community at large. We also consider counterfactual scenarios that show how changes in implementation strategy might have led to different patterns of community change. Results: Our model can reproduce real-world patterns of diffusion. Simulations show a substantial increase in knowledge (an approximate doubling) and a slight increase in engagement throughout the broader community. A relatively small amount of this change in knowledge (∼10%), and all the change in engagement is attributable to direct intervention effects on committee members. Conclusions: SDCD is premised on creating preconditions for sustainable change. Previous work has estimated impact on small samples closely linked to the stakeholder committee, but the degree to which this translates into the much broader diffusion envisioned by SDCD theory is unknown. This analysis demonstrates the potential of interventions to do just that. Additionally, the counterfactual scenarios suggest that simulation can help tailor implementation of SDCD interventions to increase impact.

Childhood Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption: an Agent-Based Model of Context-Specific Reduction Efforts.

INTRODUCTION: Despite widespread recognition among public health experts that childhood sugar-sweetened beverage consumption should be reduced, doing so has proven to be a challenge. An agent-based model of early childhood sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was applied to data from three high-quality, longitudinal cohort studies to gain insight into potentially effective intervention strategies across contexts. METHODS: From 2021 to 2023, a single agent-based model design was applied to data sets derived from three separate cohorts of children followed from infancy to childhood, with very different populations and environments (participants recruited in 1999-2002; 2003-2010; and 2009-2014). After assessing its ability to reproduce observed consumption patterns across cohorts, it was used to simulate potential impacts of multiple intervention strategies across contexts. RESULTS: Interventions reducing home availability of sugar-sweetened beverages consistently had the largest potential effects. Impact differed between cohort settings: a complete decrease in availability resulted in an estimated 87% decrease in overall early childhood consumption for one of the cohorts, compared with 61% and 54% in the others. Reducing availability in center-based child care resulted in substantially greater reduction in one cohort relative to the other two. CONCLUSIONS: There is untapped potential for strategies targeting children's sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in the home, but in some instances, other approaches might also yield meaningful effects. Tailoring approach to setting may be important, and agent-based models can be informative for doing so. This agent-based model has broad generalizability and potential to serve as a tool for designing effective, context-specific strategies to reduce childhood sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.