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June 2013

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Addressing the Wicked Problem of Obesity through Planning and Policies
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In this month's editorial, the PLOS Medicine editors discuss need to address the "wicked" problem of physical inactivity through planning and policies.

Two papers recently published in PLOS Medicine examine different aspects of physical activity in the context of public health. The first, by Christopher Millet and colleagues, documents the associations between active travel to work and overweight, hypertension, and diabetes in India; the second is a systematic review by Patrick Kolsteren and colleagues, showing that in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), where the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is high and rising, the gap between policy and burden is substantial. The need to address physical inactivity is urgent: the World Health Organization now ranks physical inactivity as the fourth leading global risk factor for mortality, and a major cause of NCDs, the leading cause of death globally.

These various viewpoints highlight that the time is now right for many initiatives to come together in the global push around public health policies for inactivity and other risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

Image Credit: Margaret Winker, PLOS

Editorial

Addressing the Wicked Problem of Obesity through Planning and Policies

The PLOS Medicine Editors

PLOS Medicine: published June 25, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001475

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  1. Associations between Active Travel to Work and Overweight, Hypertension, and Diabetes in India: A Cross-Sectional Study
  2. The Health Effects of Motorization
  3. Diet and Physical Activity for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Policy Review
  4. Malignant Neglect: The Failure to Address the Need to Prevent Premature Non-communicable Disease Morbidity and Mortality

Essay

Modern Medicine Is Neglecting Road Traffic Crashes

Donald A. Redelmeier, Barry A. McLellan

PLOS Medicine: published June 11, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001463

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Perspectives

Rising Health Care Costs and Life-Cycle Management in the Pharmaceutical Market

Aaron S. Kesselheim

PLOS Medicine: published June 4, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001461

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The Health Effects of Motorization

Kavi Bhalla

PLOS Medicine: published June 11, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001458

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Why Aren't We Listening Yet? A Decade of Road Safety Begins Quietly

Tracey Pérez Koehlmoos

PLOS Medicine: published June 11, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001464

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Malignant Neglect: The Failure to Address the Need to Prevent Premature Non-communicable Disease Morbidity and Mortality

David Stuckler, Sanjay Basu

PLOS Medicine: published June 11, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001466

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Bigotry and Oppressive Laws in Africa Drive HIV in Men Who Have Sex with Men

Jerome Amir Singh

PLOS Medicine: published June 18, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001471

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Health in Action

Integrating Health Care Delivery and Data Collection in Rural India Using a Rapidly Deployable eHealth Center

Anurag Agrawal, Jaijit Bhattacharya, Nishant Baranwal, Sushil Bhatla, Salil Dube, Viren Sardana, Devender R. Gaur, Danica Balazova, Samir K. Brahmachari

PLOS Medicine: published June 25, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001468

Policy Forums

Household Air Pollution in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Health Risks and Research Priorities

William J. Martin II, Roger I. Glass, Houmam Araj, John Balbus, Francis S. Collins, Siân Curtis, Gregory B. Diette, William N. Elwood, Henry Falk, Patricia L. Hibberd, Susan E. J. Keown, Sumi Mehta, Erin Patrick, Julia Rosenbaum, Amir Sapkota, H. Eser Tolunay, Nigel G. Bruce

PLOS Medicine: published June 4, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001455

Targeting Asymptomatic Malaria Infections: Active Surveillance in Control and Elimination

Hugh J. W. Sturrock, Michelle S. Hsiang, Justin M. Cohen, David L. Smith, Bryan Greenhouse, Teun Bousema, Roly D. Gosling

PLOS Medicine: published June 18, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001467

Research Articles

Patented Drug Extension Strategies on Healthcare Spending: A Cost-Evaluation Analysis

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Irene Pichler, Fabiola Del Greco M., Martin Gögele, Christina M. Lill, Lars Bertram, Chuong B. Do, Nicholas Eriksson, Tatiana Foroud, Richard H. Myers, PD GWAS Consortium, Michael Nalls, Margaux F. Keller, International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, Beben Benyamin, John B. Whitfield, Genetics of Iron Status Consortium, Peter P. Pramstaller, Andrew A. Hicks, John R. Thompson, Cosetta Minelli

PLOS Medicine: published June 4, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001462

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Associations between Active Travel to Work and Overweight, Hypertension, and Diabetes in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Christopher Millett, Sutapa Agrawal, Ruth Sullivan, Mario Vaz, Anura Kurpad, A. V. Bharathi, Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Kolli Srinath Reddy, Sanjay Kinra, George Davey Smith, Shah Ebrahim, for the Indian Migration Study group

PLOS Medicine: published June 11, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001459

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Diet and Physical Activity for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Policy Review

Carl Lachat, Stephen Otchere, Dominique Roberfroid, Abubakari Abdulai, Florencia Maria Aguirre Seret, Jelena Milesevic, Godfrey Xuereb, Vanessa Candeias, Patrick Kolsteren

PLOS Medicine: published June 11, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001465

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The Effect of Intermittent Antenatal Iron Supplementation on Maternal and Infant Outcomes in Rural Viet Nam: A Cluster Randomised Trial

Sarah Hanieh, Tran T. Ha, Julie A. Simpson, Gerard J. Casey, Nguyen C. Khuong, Dang D. Thoang, Tran T. Thuy, Sant-Rayn Pasricha, Thach D. Tran, Tran Tuan, Terence Dwyer, Jane Fisher, Beverley-Ann Biggs

PLOS Medicine: published June 18, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001470

Prevalence of Consensual Male–Male Sex and Sexual Violence, and Associations with HIV in South Africa: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Kristin L. Dunkle, Rachel K. Jewkes, Daniel W. Murdock, Yandisa Sikweyiya, Robert Morrell

PLOS Medicine: published June 18, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001472

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Uncovering Treatment Burden as a Key Concept for Stroke Care: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research

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PLOS Medicine: published June 25, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001473

The Role of Adiposity in Cardiometabolic Traits: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Tove Fall, Sara Hägg, Reedik Mägi, Alexander Ploner, Krista Fischer, Momoko Horikoshi, Antti-Pekka Sarin, Gudmar Thorleifsson, Claes Ladenvall, Mart Kals, Maris Kuningas, Harmen H. M. Draisma, Janina S. Ried, Natalie R. van Zuydam, Ville Huikari, Massimo Mangino, Emily Sonestedt, Beben Benyamin, Christopher P. Nelson, Natalia V. Rivera, Kati Kristiansson, Huei-yi Shen, Aki S. Havulinna, Abbas Dehghan, Louise A. Donnelly, Marika Kaakinen, Marja-Liisa Nuotio, Neil Robertson, Renée F. A. G. de Bruijn, M. Arfan Ikram, Najaf Amin, Anthony J. Balmforth, Peter S. Braund, Alexander S. F. Doney, Angela Döring, Paul Elliott, Tõnu Esko, Oscar H. Franco, Solveig Gretarsdottir, Anna-Liisa Hartikainen, Kauko Heikkilä, Karl-Heinz Herzig, Hilma Holm, Jouke Jan Hottenga, Elina Hyppönen, Thomas Illig, Aaron Isaacs, Bo Isomaa, Lennart C. Karssen, Johannes Kettunen, Wolfgang Koenig, Kari Kuulasmaa, Tiina Laatikainen, Jaana Laitinen, Cecilia Lindgren, Valeriya Lyssenko, Esa Läärä, Nigel W. Rayner, Satu Männistö, Anneli Pouta, Wolfgang Rathmann, Fernando Rivadeneira, Aimo Ruokonen, Markku J. Savolainen, Eric J. G. Sijbrands, Kerrin S. Small, Jan H. Smit, Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir, Ann-Christine Syvänen, Anja Taanila, Martin D. Tobin, Andre G. Uitterlinden, Sara M. Willems, Gonneke Willemsen, Jacqueline Witteman, Markus Perola, Alun Evans, Jean Ferrières, Jarmo Virtamo, Frank Kee, David-Alexandre Tregouet, Dominique Arveiler, Philippe Amouyel, Marco M. Ferrario, Paolo Brambilla, Alistair S. Hall, Andrew C. Heath, Pamela A. F. Madden, Nicholas G. Martin, Grant W. Montgomery, John B. Whitfield, Antti Jula, Paul Knekt, Ben Oostra, Cornelia M. van Duijn, Brenda W. J. H. Penninx, George Davey Smith, Jaakko Kaprio, Nilesh J. Samani, Christian Gieger, Annette Peters, H.-Erich Wichmann, Dorret I. Boomsma, Eco J. C. de Geus, TiinaMaija Tuomi, Chris Power, Christopher J. Hammond, Tim D. Spector, Lars Lind, Marju Orho-Melander, Colin Neil Alexander Palmer, Andrew D. Morris, Leif Groop, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Veikko Salomaa, Erkki Vartiainen, Albert Hofman, Samuli Ripatti, Andres Metspalu, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Kari Stefansson, Nancy L. Pedersen, Mark I. McCarthy, Erik Ingelsson, Inga Prokopenko, for the European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology (ENGAGE) consortium

PLOS Medicine: published June 25, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001474