Crafting a healthier future: exploring the nexus of product design, digital innovations and dynamic marketing for obesity prevention. A literature review

Obesity is a critical issue today and represents a challenge for public health at a global level, with its incidence which reached epidemic proportions in recent decades (Tran et al., 2023; WHO, 2022a). Obesity is a pathological condition with a complex etiology characterized by the interaction of biological, physiological, behavioral, cultural, socioeconomic and structural variables as well as factors at the individual level (e.g., as for income) and neighborhood level (e.g., as for social networks) (Gordon-Larsen and Rummo, 2024).

The obesity medicine association (OMA) defined obesity as “a chronic, progressive, relapsing, and treatable multi-factorial, neurobehavioral disease, where an increase in body fat promotes adipose tissue dysfunction and abnormal fat mass physical forces, resulting in adverse metabolic, biomechanical, and psychosocial health consequences” (Bray et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) recommended categorization of obesity as follows: Grade 1 (body mass index ranging from 30 to 34.9 kg/m2), Grade 2 (body mass index ranging from 35.0 to 39.9 kg/m2) and Grade 3 (body mass index ≥40 kg/m2). The WHO European Regional Obesity Report (2022) found that 59% of European adults and almost 1 out of 3 children (29% of males and 27% of females) are obese or overweight. Furthermore, a study by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) specifies that obesity is among the leading causes of death worldwide. The obesity epidemic produces about 5% of worldwide mortality and has an economic impact of about 2 trillion dollars per year, that is, 2.8% of world gross domestic product (GDP) (https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/in-the-news/the-global-obesity-threat, 2022).

In this backdrop, the importance of obesity prevention has gained substantial attention in contemporary society (e.g. as recently confirmed by Tran et al., 2023), also considering the role of obesity as predisposing factor to chronic diseases related such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and musculoskeletal disorders (WHO, 2022b). Addressing obesity requires, thus, a multifaceted approach with policy actions that define interventions not only at the individual level, but also able to shape the behavioral choices of the community towards a correct lifestyle (Barquera et al., 2024). In this sense, the WHO (2020) defines guidelines for the obesity prevention that aim to change the obesogenic environment in order to ensure a healthy lifestyle at every stage of an individual’s life such as the promotion of breastfeeding or the modification of the urban environment to the promotion of physical activity. However, an innovative perspective on body weight regulation defined the “Dual Intervention Point” (DIP model) explains how the human body regulates body weight (Speakman and Hall, 2023) through two intervention points: upper and lower, representing respectively the level of body weight above and below which are activated physiological mechanisms that prevent further loss or weight increases reaching the so-called “zone of indifference” where body weight may vary without activating such mechanisms. Some individuals may have a lower upper intervention point than others, which means they are more likely to gain weight and become obese.

Anyway, based on such considerations, planning marketing-based prevention strategies and effective communication campaigns that leverage behavioral science principles to promote healthier lifestyles may be an effective way of tackling the problem. For example, nutritional advertising and labeling may help obesity prevention. In this regard, prior literature supports the role of nutrition labeling as it promotes responsible food consumption through nutritional information (Schwalb Helguero et al., 2023). In addition, some marketing-related factors such as packaging (Koo and Suk, 2016), food naming (Irmak et al., 2011) and variety of food assortment could increase perceived food healthiness and thus impact consumption (Broniarczyk, 2018). Communication plays a key role in the promotion of awareness, education and virtuous behavior to contrast obesity. An effective strategy should involve different levels, such as families (Datar and Nicosia, 2018), schools (Story et al., 2006), social community (Christakis and Fowler, 2007), media (Garde, 2008) and social media (Lewis and Yu, 2022) to have a significant impact on public health.

In addition, the present paper explores whether the use of new technologies may increase the potential effectiveness of marketing and communication strategies in tackling the obesity challenge. New technological innovations may indeed support marketing communication campaigns and be helpful in setting up therapeutic plans. For instance, modern technologies, such as mobile applications, wearable devices or personal digital assistants (PDAs) may make a significant contribution to the obesity prevention by allowing real-time monitoring and management of patients’ diets and lifestyles. Moreover, they promote the development of new therapeutic approaches such as digital therapeutics with the aim of modifying the dysfunctional behaviors of patients and improving their prognosis (Hong et al., 2021).

Despite the social relevance of the obesity challenge and the importance of identifying marketing strategies that may contribute to addressing it effectively and efficiently, prior literature only offers fragmented contributions on the issue. Therefore, this paper sets out to systematize the body of knowledge related to the role of marketing in the obesity prevention with a review of literature. More formally, the paper seeks to answer the following research question:

To this end, a systematic review of the literature appeared during the last 2 decades has been conducted (2000–2023) to examine the current body of knowledge on the relevance of the food products design and the role of the communication, marketing and technology related to the obesity prevention. The last 2 decades has indeed witnessed a significant increase in both obesity incidence and the diffusion of technology-driven innovations in the obesity domain.

Findings shed light on three main macro-topics emerging from the marketing literature and focused on obesity prevention: (1) Product design for obesity prevention; (2) Technology-supported preventive measures; and (3) Marketing and communication strategies. Each of those macro-topics includes relevant subtopics. The paper offers an overview on the main marketing literature developed in the last 2 decades on the issue of obesity prevention, emphasizing a research agenda for the next future and offering practical implications for marketers. From a theoretical point of view, the present study highlights the importance of a holistic approach through the integration of the different macro topics to guide people towards positive behaviors of obesity prevention stressing the increasingly important role of new technologies that provide innovative tools to monitor and motivate people towards a healthier lifestyle. In addition, in the future it will be interesting to identify the most persuasive communicative stimuli that may encourage more positive consumer healthcare behavior.

Healthcare plays a crucial social role because it promotes sustainable development by promoting the individual and collective well-being of individuals. In this domain, a key element is marketing that through communication educates, informs and guides people towards virtuous health choices (Salmon and Atkin, 2003).

The importance of effective communication is also explained by literature in the field of obesity prevention as it contributes to raising awareness and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. The World Obesity Atlas Report 2023 of the World Obesity Federation (2023) estimates that more than half of the global population will be in conditions of excess body weight by 2035 with consequent strong economic and social impacts. Thus, identifying guidelines for the implementation of obesity prevention actions that reduce economic and social pressure is a concrete goal for national health systems.

In this domain, the review shows the need to change the obesogenic environment, described as context with wicked alimentary habits and lifestyle (Hill et al., 2003). Specifically, the aim is to facilitate the adoption of a nutritionally balanced diet and increase physical activity and despite obesity prevention requires a holistic approach, a key role could be played by communication through awareness-raising campaigns aimed at developing health literacy, that is the ability of individuals to properly inform themselves and understand health-related information in order to make informed choices (Berkman et al., 2010), food literacy, that is, the process that leads individuals to acquire the knowledge and individual skills necessary to guide food behaviors towards conscious choices (Vidgen and Gallegos, 2014), and promoting physical activity. In this sense, setting up efficient communication campaigns may act on public opinion, by sensitizing individuals and stimulating positive and healthy behaviors and attitudes. Specifically, communication may regulate healthcare consumer behavior facilitating the creation of a preventive attitude (Salmon and Atkin, 2003).

The aim is to act on the cognitive dimension by encouraging the behavior of healthcare consumers through nudge. Nudge may be defined as a set of actions that encourage individuals to make responsible choices and to have healthy behaviors (Amatulli et al., 2023; Roberto et al., 2014) that in the healthcare, it results in a preventive approach to patient health.

Thus, from the literature review emerges the importance of specific and effective marketing strategies that through a holistic approach consider not only a product design that can positively involve consumer behavior through elements such as labeling, packaging, naming, and size assortment but also persuasive communication strategies that create awareness about the problem of obesity and push individuals to implement virtuous behaviors. Moreover, the impact of communication in obesity prevention can improve with the aid of technology. Indeed, the use of advanced technologies, such as IoT sensors and devices, smartphones and electronic health records, is functional to obesity prevention. Specifically, such technologies promote effective communication for several reasons. They ensure wide accessibility and access to information that reaches a wider audience than traditional media, such as television or newspapers. In addition, advanced technologies allowing an interactive engagement and customization of communication that delivers specific content based on target (Hinchliffe et al., 2022) increases the chances of consumers to adopt healthy behavior. Moreover, advanced technologies may facilitate the collection and communication of personal and behavioral data, thus transforming the traditional doctor-patient relationship into an equal and collaborative partnership.

Based on above, the issue of obesity prevention has garnered significant attention due to its prevalence and impact on public health. However, the vast amount of knowledge and the multidisciplinary nature of the topic have resulted in a fragmented understanding of the subject. To address this gap and emphasize the crucial role of marketing in shaping societal behaviors, a systematic literature review from a consumer behavior perspective has been conducted. By examining existing literature and practices, the aim of the work was to organize and synthesize the diverse concepts related to obesity prevention. Additionally, the review sought to identify key areas for future research, enabling the development of a robust research agenda in this field.

This literature review describes the state of the art on the contribution of marketing discipline to the improvement of obesity prevention strategies and sheds light on the most promising topics worthy of future investigation by scientific research. Specifically, the work critically analyzed experimental and review studies published in international peer-reviewed journals over the last 2 decades (from January 1st, 2000, to March 31st, 2023). By following Sestino et al. (2020), based on Tranfield et al. (2003) the process started by defining a list of 12 keywords that could be used to extract from the main scientific databases hosting the most important management, marketing and sociology journals the most suitable contributions to answer the identified research questions. A sample list of selected keywords referred, for example, to “obesity”, “digital therapeutics”, “communication”, “healthcare marketing”, “behavioral experiment”, “overeating”, combined with keywords related to consumer behavior such as “healthcare consumer behavior”, “decision making”, “self-monitoring”, “food styles”, “communication stimuli”, and “nudge”.

Following the selection of the final set of keywords, a series of queries has been launched that combine the selected keywords, to the criteria of database-mining, on Google Scholar, Scopus and main databases related to management and marketing studies (e.g., as for Business Source Premiere and EconLit, hosted by EBSCO; Scopus; and ABI/INFORM Complete by ProQuest) to extract articles that also contained business-related words in the title, such as “business”, “management”, “marketing”, “consumer” or “advertising” and in the abstract (Tranfield et al., 2003). A query was, for example, “TITLE-ABS ((“Obesity” and “Consumers”) and (“marketing” OR “advertising” OR “communication”)) AND PUBYEAR > “2000” AND <“2023” AND (LIMIT- TO (DOCTYPE, “ar”) O LIMIT-TO (DOCTYPE, “cp”)) AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, “English”))). The initial analysis yielded a total of 119 documents. Subsequently, a careful review of these results led to the selection of 46 separate publications. However, some contributions already online available in 2023, but part of into and volumes of 2024, have nevertheless been taken into consideration. Thus, based on Tranfield et al. (2003) we delineated a systematic and rigorous methodology for conducting a literature review, encompassing distinct six phases that facilitate a thorough examination of pertinent literature. The initial phase involves defining the scope and objectives of the review, thereby establishing a clear framework for subsequent exploration. Subsequently, a systematic search strategy is devised to identify relevant sources, employing predefined criteria to ensure the inclusion of scholarly and credible works. The third step entails an exhaustive examination and evaluation of the selected literature, discerning key themes, methodologies and findings. Ultimately, synthesizing the information gleaned, the literature review under Tranfield et al. (2003), and on the basis of similar work on this domain (e.g. as for Sestino et al., 2020) approach aims to offer a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, contributing to the scholarly discourse in a disciplined and methodical manner. A detailed flowchart is proposed in Figure 1 below.

The systematic review of the literature shed light on three fundamental topics full of issues and opportunities that may support obesity prevention in terms of: (1) Product design for obesity prevention (i.e., labeling, naming, packaging, assortment); (2) Technology-supported preventive measures (i.e., mobile application, self-monitoring, short message services and digital therapeutics) and (3) Marketing and communication strategies (i.e., social advertising, nudge, social influence, childhood obesity prevention) as shown in the table below (Table 1).

Specifically, the literature shows that the fight against obesity is a complex challenge that requires a multifactorial approach involving product strategies, technological development and appropriate marketing and communication initiatives.

In particular, the product design directly affects individuals' dietary choices and eating behavior by encouraging the consumption of healthier foods and reducing the consumption of high-calorie foods, added sugars and saturated fats (Chandon, 2013). However, design must be part of a broader strategy than through the exploitation of technological innovation and the integration of efficient communication and marketing actions promotes food education and the promotion of physical activity.

Technological advances make obesity prevention resources more accessible, providing people with tools to monitor and improve their health more effectively by allowing individuals to keep track of their eating and exercise habits through immediate feedback on training progress or dietary progress, besides facilitating access to a wide range of educational resources on nutrition, physical activity and health in general (Hinchliffe et al., 2022).

However, as discussed above, the holistic approach to the problem of obesity involves the creation of persuasive marketing and communication strategies that can positively influence consumer healthcare behavior through, for example, promoting a healthy lifestyle, reducing the promotion of junk food, raising awareness of obesity risks and campaigns for children.

The first topic that influencing healthcare consumer behaviors in the obesity prevention field is product design. Product design can be an important ally in obesity prevention since it can promote healthier lifestyles and increase consumer awareness of nutritional choices. The literature review indicates four main subtopics – labeling, naming, packaging and assortment – that show how improving the clarity and reliability of nutrition information would enable consumers to make more careful choices.

Appropriate labeling systems, providing accurate information on the caloric and nutritional content of food and beverages, is a potentially very efficient strategy to prevent obesity (Waxman, 2004). Labeling may be useful to help consumers make informed decisions about the foods they are about to eat and prevent obesity as it can provide information on the nutritional value of a product, such as its calorie content, fat content and sugar content. Indeed, research has shown that when consumers are provided with clear and easy-to-understand information about the nutritional value of foods, they are more likely to make healthier food choices (Hersey et al., 2013). In particular, label format and placement emerged as important factors for quick and easy access to information. In this sense, one type of labeling that has been shown to be effective in encouraging health-promoting food choices is front-of-package labeling. Front-of-package labels typically display key nutrient information, such as calorie and sugar content, in a simple and easy-to-understand format.

Studies have found that front-of-package labeling can influence consumer behavior to take healthy dietary choices (Schwalb Helguero et al., 2023). In addition to front-of-package labeling, other forms of product labeling may also be effective in preventing obesity. In this sense, the literature review shows that, the use of nutri-score, i.e. a “traffic light” labeling which color codes foods based on their nutritional value showing a color scale ranging from green, nutritious food, to red, low-nutrient foods, may help consumers make healthy dietary choices (Touvier et al., 2021). However, the nutri-score has structural limitations that make this kind of labeling highly criticized as it causes simplistic and misleading generalizations that do not fully reflect the nutritional quality of the individual food (Dréano-Trécant et al., 2020). Anyway, the real hurdle does not seem to be individuals’ ability to make use of the information, but rather their motivation to do so. Indeed, studies demonstrated that consumers observe nutrition labels in time intervals between 25 and 100 ms (Bonsmann et al., 2010). This time is insufficient to process information rationally. Thus, adding a health logo on the packaging or nutri-score could facilitate product evaluation and choice.

Still from a product design perspective, studies highlight that healthcare consumer behavior may also be influenced by the naming of the food (Oakes, 2006). The name of a food effects on the perception of its nutritional level (Irmak et al., 2011). Stereotypes on healthiness of food, therefore, lead consumers to simplistic overgeneralizations that divide food into good or bad for health. In this sense, foods traditionally recognized with high-nutrient (such as fruit) are considered more effective for the proper maintenance of weight, regardless of their actual sugar or fat content, contrary to foods perceived with low-nutrient, such as chocolate, enabling compulsive eating behaviors. Such considerations were developed by Oakes (2005) in an experiment. In particular, the author showed that small portions of food stereotypically with low-nutrient, specifically Snickers (47 calories), were consistently perceived to promote a greater weight gain than very large portions of snack consisting of food stereotypically with high-nutrient such as cheese, carrots and pears (569 calories).

To implement efficient strategies for obesity prevention, marketing should focus also on the packaging of food. Indeed, packaging design, shape, color and materials influence healthcare consumer behavior (Chandon, 2013). The biggest advantage of packaging is that, unlike traditional advertising, it sends communication stimuli in the purchase and consumption steps. Previous research has shown how the shape of an object activates different cognitive responses (Pavlova et al., 2005). For example, a round shape evokes warmth, whereas an angled one arouses a feeling of danger.

Based on such findings, recent studies showed that food contained in elongated packaging is perceived as less caloric than food stored in low and large packaging (Koo and Suk, 2016). In addition, the content of the packaging is considered to represent the appropriate amount of food to be consumed. Therefore, reducing portion sizes can significantly reduce food consumption.

Empirical evidence demonstrates the importance of variety (Gourville and Soman, 2005) and the organization of an assortment (Broniarczyk, 2018). Specifically, a study by Sharkey et al. (2012) shows that assortment variety can affect food consumption, indeed a larger assortment variety offers consumers more food choice options causing increased consumption. In this sense, a key role can also be played by the organization or disorganization of an assortment. In fact, if a product stock is presented to the consumer in an organized way, the variety perceived by him will increase and the impact on consumption will be greater. On the contrary, the disorganization of the assortment reduces the variety perceived by consumers by reducing consumption.

In the healthcare field, technology may help prevent obesity by providing tools and resources to support healthy behaviors. Specifically, technology makes medicine more effective than in the past in preventing chronic diseases, such as obesity. In fact, digital progress allows greater accessibility to cognitive-behavioral interventions and thus the development of self-regulation practices. In this domain, technology may play an important role in the development of a new approach to obesity prevention, not only facilitating weight loss in overweight and obese individuals but also educating and encouraging them to engage in healthier lifestyles. This paper examines how four different facets of technology-supported preventive measures – mobile applications, self-monitoring, short message service (SMS) and digital therapeutics (DTx) – may promote a healthy lifestyle.

Mobile-applications New technologies, such as mobile applications, promote activities of self-monitoring and are increasingly being used to instill healthy behaviors in individuals (Yu et al., 2015). In particular, literature demonstrated that self-monitoring interventions via mobile applications (Patel et al., 2020) can lead to an effective reduction of body mass index in adults. Indeed, mobile applications that track food intake and physical activity can help individuals monitor their progress and make informed decisions about their health behaviors (Burke et al., 2019).

Self-monitoring The relevance of self-monitoring in obesity prevention is clear as it increases consumer awareness of the importance of a correct lifestyle (Berry et al., 2021). Nevertheless, the real potential of self-monitoring is expressed when it is combined with technology. Indeed, traditionally, self-monitoring was conducted using a paper diary to track eating behavior, physical activity and weight. Yet recording on a paper diary requires great behavioral commitment and over time reduces adherence to the self-management program. Based on this reason, nowadays, digital self-monitoring has developed. Literature shows that, while adherence to self-monitoring of physical activity stays constant over time, dietary adherence decreases (Harvey et al., 2019), as digital self-monitoring of food and drink intake is more challenging than that physical activity (Pham, 2014).

The systematic literature review identifies the potential of the SMS to encourage a change in consumer behavior for the obesity prevention. SMS is a mobile service to send short text messaging to fixed lines and mobile phone devices (Shaw and Bosworth, 2012). In healthcare, the SMS is intended to remind the user to eat healthily and to practice regular exercise. Specifically, the literature highlighted that SMS encourages and motivates consumers to adopt behaviors that preserve health (De Leon et al., 2014). It has been shown that sending SMS has a significant effect on weight loss, diet and physical exercise (Shaw and Bosworth, 2012).

The enormous communicative potential of SMS derives from two main elements. Firstly, the features of the service, such as low cost, applicability to every model of mobile phone and delivery of the message even if the phone is offline (Cole-Lewis and Kershaw, 2010). Secondly, the massive spread of mobile devices, in fact 2.4 billion individuals uses mobile phones in the world (Shaw and Bosworth, 2012).

Studies show the relevance of a cognitive behavioral approach to affect consumer behavior in obesity prevention and in this domain, digital therapeutics (hereafter, DTx) plays a key role. Such interventions provide therapeutic service through lifestyle and behavior changes, cognitive training, psychological support and disease treatment (Dang et al., 2020). The DTx, as software-based interventions that aim to optimize disease management in the patient, have also shown promise in preventing obesity. For example, virtual reality technology can provide immersive experiences that they involve patients emotionally and promote physical activity and healthy eating behaviors (Hong et al., 2021).

DTx uses digital tools like mobile devices, apps, sensors, virtual reality, the Internet of Things and other tools to spur behavioral changes in patients. However, unlike many healthcare applications or software, DTx is based on randomized and controlled trials, just like drugs (Hong et al., 2021). The DTx development may thus have a positive impact on providing customized health services as their design is tailored to fit patients’ needs (Dang et al., 2020; Sestino and D’Angelo, 2023). Two practical examples of DTx currently available in the market are resetSET-O and Sleepio, which are mobile applications that provide cognitive behavioral therapies (as a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to be effective in contributing to healing), and lead patients with narcotics use disorders to track their substance use, cravings and triggers (Chung, 2019).

Finally, the main findings revealed how marketing and communication strategies can be powerful tools in promoting healthy behaviors and preventing obesity. Indeed, existing empirical evidence suggests that the application of communication and marketing strategies has a strong impact on the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Specifically, through the management of four specific subtopics – social advertising, nudge, social influence and childhood obesity – it is possible encourage consumers to implement a healthy lifestyle and appropriate nutrition.

An initial approach is to use social advertising that contributes to the development of the food preferences of families aiming to change attitudes and behaviors related to diet and physical activity (Garde, 2008). A second approach is to target social advertising towards specific segments of the population. Indeed, messages that promote a correct lifestyle may be more effective when they are tailored to the individual’s interests and preferences (Vandelanotte et al., 2012).

Overall, the literature highlights the importance of social advertising that educates the consumer emphasizing the risks of eating foods with high levels of fat, sugar or salt and to have a sedentary lifestyle. Specifically, the strategies of social advertising could produce positive changes or prevent negative changes in the obesity prevention field (Dixon et al., 2015). However, it is important to understand the most effective ways to convey, through advertising, information and inspire deep behavioral change. In this sense, studies showed that advertisements containing messages which provide concrete behavioral recommendations, such as foods to eat and avoid, are the most effective in generating more knowledge and, consequently, implementing virtuous behaviors (Dixon et al., 2015).

As specified so far, the application of marketing and communication strategies promote the implementation of virtuous health behaviors in consumers. This approach is called nudge and originated with the Thaler and Sunstein’s theory of “libertarian paternalism” (2009), according to which, private and public institutions nudge individuals towards decisions, taken freely, that protect personal welfare.

In this sense, the nudge approach proposes that automatic decisions can be systematically triggered to improve health outcomes. Nudge health techniques follow the so-called EAST model, i.e. to encourage behavior, there is a need to make it: Easy to implement; Attractive, bring out with clarity the positive consequences; Social, make behavior socially appreciated; Timely, that is to propose the behavioral change at the appropriate moment when the consumer is more receptive (Service et al., 2012).

In particular, from the literature review emerged the five most important nudge intervents: framing, reminders, gamification, social modeling and social influence (Kwan et al., 2020). Specifically, framing is a communicative process that affects a person’s behavior; reminders are stimuli that push individuals to action; gamification exploits elements of game design to spur the person to progress and earn points in a game set to change health behavior; social modeling proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others; social influence that is the ability to conform to social trends.

Social influence may be defined as the process that alters beliefs, opinions and behaviors of an individual from result of interaction with another individual or group (Hsu and Lin, 2008). In this domain, the family environment plays a key role since it is the first place of learning food education for an individual. Indeed, parents and older family members act as role models for children when it comes to lifestyle behaviors and parents attentive to the care of eating habits and physical activity will have a better chance of having children normal weight (Babooram et al., 2011). Contrarily, children of obese parents have 55% more chances to become obese growing up (Dolton and Xiao, 2017).

In addition, obesity rate is higher for families living in social contexts where obesity is most prevalent (Datar and Nicosia, 2018). Based on above these premises, it emerges that in the etiopathogenesis of obesity have a crucial role environmental factor within which is possible also to find friends. In fact, not only family but also friendships can affect obesity rates and have obese friends increases the probability of becoming obese by 57% (Christakis and Fowler, 2007).

However, with the advent and development of social networks, social influence is also recorded through a virtual context. In fact, the strong impact that social media can have on the problem of obesity through the figure of influencers emerges, since they establish a parasocial relationship with followers through a feeling of friendship and empathy (Lewis and Yu, 2022).

The systematic review of the literature shows the importance of educating the new generations at a correct lifestyle, in fact, the promotion of healthy growth patterns from childhood can prevent excess body fat in children and thus obesity in adults (Lobstein and Baur, 2024). The first years of life can be crucial to start preventive interventions that can have a positive impact on lifestyle and on obesity (Monasta et al., 2011). In this sense, to set marketing and communication strategies to promote proper nutrition and physical activity in the social contexts frequented by children may have a key role in the obesity prevention.

Contrarily, literature review shows how the relentless attack of food advertising has contributed to weight gain in children. Indeed, direct evidence indicates that television food advertising increases children’s preferences for the foods advertised and their requests to parents for those foods. Based on such findings, marketing and communication must act in an integrated, constant and innovative way to prevent obesity.

Such strategies are also coherent with EPODE paradigm (Ensemble Prévenons l'Obésité Des Enfants’), intended as an approach useful to promote healthier lifestyle, based on a coordinated, capacity-building efforts for communities in the attempt to boost educational campaigns to prevent childhood obesity (Borys et al., 2012, 2013). Indeed, such an approach has been largely exploited to reduce childhood obesity through the creation of new educational schemes in which local environments and families are encouraged to facilitate the adoption of healthy lifestyles in children (Borys et al., 2012, 2016; Van Koperen et al., 2013).

Based on the literature review, findings may be useful to propose a solid research agenda to enlighten future research especially deriving from the combination of product design for obesity prevention, together with both technology-supported preventive measures, and marketing and communications strategies in terms of: (1) Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies; (2) Personalization and Tailoring; (3) Behavioral Changes Techniques and Gamification; (4) User Experience and Acceptance; (5) Cost-effectiveness and Implementation; (6) Ethical and Privacy Concern, as reported in the Table below (see Table 2).

Obesity has emerged as a significant public health issue worldwide, affecting individuals of all ages, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds. In response to this scenario, the 21st century has developed and updated guidelines on how to prevent, diagnose and manage obesity (Bray and Sumińska, 2024). These contemporary directives, formulated throughout the ongoing century, reflect the need for multifaceted and integrated approaches to address this complex condition. Specifically, a multidisciplinary approach is required that involves public health initiatives, education and research. In this domain, research is critical in understanding the underlying causes of obesity, developing effective prevention strategies, and evaluating their effectiveness.

The paper systematizes the great amount of multidisciplinary existing knowledge from a consumer-behavior perspective shedding light on three macro-topics, namely (1) Product design for obesity prevention; (2) Technology-supported preventive measures; and (3) Marketing and communication strategies; which, based on the findings, have emerged as essential tools for preventing obesity.

Firstly, product design can be a powerful tool in the prevention of obesity. The inclusion of clear and concise nutritional information on food packaging can help consumers make informed decisions about their food choices. To date, research has shown that front-of-package labeling can improve consumers’ understanding of nutrition and lead to healthier food choices. For example, the use of the “traffic light” system can quickly communicate nutritional information and help consumers make informed choices (Touvier et al., 2021).

Secondly, technology-supported preventive measures are another effective approach to preventing obesity. The use of wearable devices, mobile apps, and other technology can provide individuals with real-time feedback on their physical activity levels, calorie intake and other health behaviors. This information can help individuals make informed decisions about their lifestyle and promote healthy habits (Berry et al., 2021). Overall, the literature review acknowledges the potential of the digital progress in healthcare. Indeed, it emerged how technology promotes the exchange of useful information for obesity prevention encouraging self-monitoring that models a clinical cognitive-behavioral approach promoting a healthy lifestyle and collaboration between doctor and patient (Hinchliffe et al., 2022).

Thirdly, marketing and communication strategies are also critical in preventing obesity. Indeed, the promotion of healthy eating habits and physical activity through marketing and communication campaigns can increase awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and preventing obesity (Gracia-Marco et al., 2011).

In conclusion, product design, technology-supported preventive measures and marketing and communication strategies are essential tools for preventing obesity. These approaches can increase consumer awareness of healthy dietary choices, promote physical activity and healthy habits, and encourage behavior change. Given the significant public health burden that obesity represents, the implementation of these strategies should be a top priority for public health practitioners and policymakers.

This paper offers a theoretical contribution since, identify, and organize rather scattered studies in obesity prevention field. From the analysis in this study, academic scholars will gain some leverage, as it provides a multidisciplinary approach and holistic use of the main topics emerging in the field of obesity prevention that is product design for obesity prevention; technology-supported preventive measures; and marketing and communication strategies.

The research suggests to marketers, physicians, practitioners, nutritionists, politicians and managers of the health sector how to organize health care for paths of care and prevention. Leveraging advanced analytical algorithms and combining diverse healthcare data, the paper suggests industry leaders design a healthcare service that harnesses the potential of technological progress to develop a communication that promotes obesity prevention programs. Technology extends the care capacity of doctors and enables a home care that provides the added benefit of privacy by lowering the stigma associated with the administration of some therapies.

Despite the promising findings, this study is not exempt of limitations. To identify a comprehensive literature report, the papers analyze have multidisciplinary nature. In this domain, the proposed selection criteria may have excluded some research articles. Indeed, about the systematic method, despite the authors using an iterative approach to analyze the most important articles, human discretion has been used to classify papers’ findings with the consequent risk of oversight. In addition, the paper only considers English articles and thus, other relevant contributions might have been neglected. In the future, thus, it would be interesting to know if findings of the scientific research might be different if the studies considered eastern consumers, endowed with clear cultural differences and longer follow-up to assess the long-term effects of therapies. Moreover, the papers analyzed do not explain what the most effective communication stimulus is. In response to this data, in future, it would be interesting to identify the most persuasive communication stimuli to make behavioral therapies more effective.