Research Guides: Obesity: Getting Started

Getting Started

Obesity is a frequently discussed topic in the media but it is often oversimplified, due to prevailing prejudices and misconceptions. Scholarly research in the last few decades has shed light on the causes of weight gain, difficulties in losing weight, and maintaining weight loss—all complicating factors that aren't always addressed in conversations about obesity.

The Search Strategies page offers tips on effectively searching the Fulton Library's OneSearch database.

This guide contains numerous resources for in-depth research on obesity, its underlying causes, and related topics:

Genetics & Medicine: Resources that cover genetic risk factors and medical conditions that can increase weight gain and/or make it difficult to lose weight.
Lifestyle & Exercise: Find background research on the effects of exercise and lack of physical activity on weight.
Nutrition & Eating: These resources focus on different issues related to nutrition and eating behaviors.
Policy: Resources that address solutions and policies proposed by health professionals and US government agencies to address obesity.

This guide also includes a round-up of memoirs that introduce readers to the prejudices directed towards those who are overweight and obese, as well as their lived experiences.

Background Research

Routledge International Handbook of Fat Studies (Print Book) by Cat Pausé and Sonya Renee Taylor (Eds)
Publication Date: 2021
The Routledge International Handbook of Fat Studies brings together a diverse body of work from around the globe and across a wide range of Fat Studies topics and perspectives. The first major collection of its kind, it explores the epistemology, ontology, and methodology of fatness, with attention to issues such as gender and sexuality, disability and embodiment, health, race, media, discrimination, and pedagogy.
Understanding Obesity (Ebook) by Rosário Monteiro and Maria João Martins (Eds)
Publication Date: 2020
Understanding Obesity informs readers about contributing factors to obesity: from social and behavioral determinants throughout the life course, influences from before we are born to what we eat (nutrients and food contaminants which impact body weight), gut bacteria, and the way accumulated energy from nutrition is spent...Understanding Obesity is a valuable reference for health researchers, practitioners (endocrinologists, family physicians, nurses), as well as decision-makers in healthcare and other professional settings who are seeking a holistic understanding about the causes of obesity and ways to address it.
Weight Management and Obesity (Ebook) by Courtney Winston Paolicelli
Publication Date: 2016
This textbook comprehensively examines the treatment of overweight and obesity using an individualized approach. Interventions including diet and behavioral modification, pharmacotherapy, surgery, and physical activity are discussed in the context of an overall lifestyle approach to weight management.

OneSearch & ProQuest

OneSearch and ProQuest are the Fulton Library's main databases. They allow you to search the library's articles, books, streaming media, and more. OneSearch and ProQuest include resources on almost every topic, making it a great place to start your research!

To use either of these databases, go to the UVU Fulton Library Homepage link below. Use the tabs in the search box to navigate between OneSearch and ProQuest. Enter search terms into the box, then hit enter or click the magnifying glass.

We recommend using both databases because, while there is some overlap between the two, each database features a lot of unique content.