This NIH funding opportunity announcement encourages proposals to evaluate the effectiveness of governmental or large organizational policies that are expected to reduce obesity. Examples of appropriate studies include, but are not limited to:
- Introduction of food or beverage taxes/subsidies/price changes/other incentives;
- Infrastructure initiatives such as retailers offering healthier food options in underserved areas;
- Changes to workplace food and/or physical activity environment;
- Polices expected to influence available options and purchasing, such as calorie labeling in restaurants, menu or food product reformulation, and supermarket layout or pricing strategies;
- Significant changes in policy or practice in large healthcare organizations that are expected to improve weight outcomes; such as changes in reimbursement, incentives, or wide scale implementation of prevention or treatment services;
- Modifications to the built environment to encourage active transportation or leisure physical activity, such as the implementation of bike lanes in urban areas, multi-use trails, subsidies for public transit, upgrades of sidewalks, or improved access to parks and recreation facilities.
Application budgets are not limited, but should reflect the actual needs of the project. The maximum project period is five years. Applications follow the R01 grant cycle and are due June 5 and October 5, 2013. For more information, see the link below: