**1. Introduction**

This chapter explores the deepening global epidemic of pediatric obesity, which predisposes individuals to significant early‐onset diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These complica‐

© 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

tions limit quality of life and ability to work, and exacerbate healthcare costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States have identified an "obesity epidemic" and specifically, reported in 2010 that 14.6% of children from 2 to 4 years old in low income households are obese. Extending current trends, the scale of the problem by the year 2030 will overwhelm healthcare systems globally. Obesity experts readily acknowledge that the etiology of pediatric obesity is multifactorial and will not be solved with single‐paradigm, single‐cause approaches. This "grand challenge" has thus already garnered the attention of experts across many disciplines, including medicine, molecular biology, public health, social policy, urban planning, early childhood schooling, and nutrition.

We add the field of organization studies to this list of disciplines, because it has a long history of examining problems that at once involve "agency and structure"—that is, the actions of individuals and the constraints of societal systems. We posit that the management of pediatric obesity is confronted by exactly this tension between agency and structure. On the one hand, recommendations about lifestyle choices abound. On the other hand, two distinct kinds of constraints are at play. Societal conditions shape diet and exercise options, such as the availability of fresh produce or the safety of nearby playgrounds, with the result that childhood obesity in the United States is strongly linked to lower socioeconomic class. In addition, the underlying biological nature of obesity is being increasingly explored, yielding insights into when and to what extent lifestyle adaptations can make a difference. Many biological pathways are set in childhood, and moreover, obesity may manifest with varied metabolic patterns, suggesting that the focus on lifestyle, or behavioral variables alone, is incomplete. Certainly, medical researchers and clinicians also appreciate the duality of individual behaviors and biological determinants. "Boundary spanners" across disciplines and sectors can advance work on obesity [1]. Adding the insights about agency and structure from an organization studies approach to the role of the corporation will, we propose, expand the analytical options and rigor in approaching pediatric obesity.
