Public health advocates and scientists working on obesity prevention policy face challenges in balancing legal rights, individual freedom, and societal health goals. In particular, the US Constitution and the 50 state constitutions place limits on the ability of government to act, even in the best interests of the public.

ChangeLab Solutions' director of legal research, Samantha Graff, and legal consultant Seth E. Mermin co-authored this article, A Legal Primer for the Obesity Prevention Movement, which was published in the American Journal of Public Health (October 2009, Vol. 99, No. 10). To help policymakers avoid crossing constitutional boundaries, the article distills the legal concepts most relevant to formulating policies aimed at preventing obesity: police power; allocation of power among federal, state, and local governments; freedom of speech; property rights; privacy; equal protection; and contract rights.