Over the past two decades, rates of adult and childhood obesity in the developed world have risen sharply. This study assembles the evidence for a geographical explanation of this trend, examining the ways in which environment and living conditions promote an imbalance of energy intake over energy expenditure.

I: Introduction; 1: Bringing a Geographical Perspective to Understanding the 'Obesity Epidemic'; 2: The Emerging Obesity Epidemic: An Introduction; 3: Contextual Determinants of Obesity: An Overview; II: Food Environment and Obesity (Energy In); 4: Changing Food Environment and Obesity: An Overview; 5: Understanding the Local Food Environment and Obesity; 6: Childhood Obesity and the Food Environment; III: Physical Activity, Environment and Obesity (Energy Out); 7: The Role of the Changing Built Environment in Shaping Our Shape; 8: Understanding the Local Physical Activity Environment and Obesity; 9: Childhood Obesity, Physical Activity and the Physical Environment; IV: Obesogenic Environments and Policy Responses; 10: Policy Responses and Obesogenic Food Environments; 11: Policy Responses and the Physical Environment; V: Future Research Challenges; 12: Residential Environments and Obesity - Estimating Causal Effects; 13: Measuring Obesogenic Environments - Representing Place in Studies of Obesity; 14: Recourse to Discourse: Talk and Text as Avenues to Understand Environments of Obesity; VI: Conclusions; 15: Conclusions: Common Themes and Emerging Questions