Foundational Work for a Brain-to-Society Diagnostic for Prevention of Childhood Obesity and Its Chronic Diseases Consequences

This multi-national program applies a breakthrough approach to childhood obesity called, Brain-to-Society (BtS) Diagnostic Approach. In Montreal, Canada and Palwal, India, the investigators will recruit two cohorts of 612 children (6 to 12 years; 306 boy/306 girls) where Whole-of-Society (WoS) transformations are taking place (industrialized societal context with peaking childhood obesity and where a broad governmental plan to promote healthy lifestyle has been adopted -Canada; developing societal context with increasing childhood obesity if replication of past pathways that have lead to double burden; India) are taking place along with World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution A63-12 for marketing of food to children. Individual-level BtS Diagnostic will examine the degree to which individual differences in genetics and biology and differences in the environmental exposures modulate the behavioral, body weight/fatness and nutritional risk over time in the context of WoS transformations. Societal-level BtS Diagnostic shall examine the influence of decisions in policy, investment, business and innovation made by different stakeholders (government, private sector, civil society in health and non-health society systems including agriculture, business and media practices) on the community.