The behaviors that determine weight status are embedded in the core social and cultural processes and environments of day-to-day life. Identifying effective, sustainable solutions to obesity therefore requires an ecological model that is inclusive of relevant contextual variables. The African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network (AACORN) has articulated an expanded paradigm to broaden the approach to obesity research with the objective of improving the ability to address obesity-related health disparities. The paradigm\u27s focus is on African Americans, but it may have broader implications. It incorporates both community and researcher perspectives, drawing on and integrating insights. from an expanded set of knowledge domains to promote a deeper understanding of relevant contexts. To augment the traditional, biomedical focus on energy balance, the expanded paradigm includes insights from family sociology, literature, philosophy, transcultural psychology, marketing, economics, and studies of the built environment. This expanded paradigm, for which development is ongoing, poses new challenges for researchers who focus on obesity and obesity-related health disparities but also promises discovery of new directions that can lead to new solution
