Tackling Obesity in Southeast Asia: A Narrative Review of Emerging Dietary, Digital, and Policy Interventions

Abstract

Obesity has become a growing public health challenge in Southeast Asia due to rapid urbanization, dietary transitions toward energy-dense foods, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The rising prevalence of obesity across Southeast Asian countries has contributed to a greater burden of non-communicable diseases and substantial economic and social costs. This study aimed to synthesize and critically evaluate current evidence on emerging dietary, digital, behavioral, environmental, and policy interventions for obesity prevention and management in Southeast Asia, as well as to identify research gaps and implications for future public health practice and policy development. A narrative review approach was employed through a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar, supplemented by reports from international health organizations. Eligible publications included peer-reviewed articles and official reports published between 2015 and 2025. Data were collected using keywords related to obesity, overweight, Southeast Asia, dietary interventions, and obesity management strategies, and were analyzed using a descriptive thematic approach. The findings indicate that digital health interventions, personalized nutrition, intermittent fasting, gut microbiome-based approaches, front-of-pack food labeling, food product reformulation, sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, and culturally tailored community-based programs show considerable potential in addressing obesity. The review further highlights that integrated behavioral, environmental, psychological, and policy interventions are more effective than single-component approaches. The conclusion is The findings indicate that combining individual, environmental, and policy-level approaches is more effective than single interventions in reducing obesity risk and improving health outcomes. Therefore, governments, healthcare providers, and communities should strengthen collaboration in implementing evidence-based obesity prevention programs, while future research should focus on evaluating the long-term effectiveness and scalability of these interventions in diverse Southeast Asian populations.