Laxy, Head of the Professorship of Public Health and Prevention and DZD project partner, wants to investigate whether political measures such as the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages and the restriction of advertising for junk food aimed at children, such as those introduced in Ireland, Great Britain, France or Portugal, influence eating habits and body weight. 

Prof. Laxy is also investigating the health and socio-economic effects of obesity prevention. To this end, Michael Laxy combines methods from economics, public health, and epidemiology and integrates the results of his empirical analyses into computer simulation models that can be used to simulate the effects of prevention measures over long periods.

Overweight and obesity lead to considerable burdens and costs for those affected, healthcare systems and national economies. All stakeholders would, therefore, benefit from a reduction in overweight in the population. However, it often needs to be clarified what health policy measures can be used to achieve this.

EcIMPACT aims to provide decision-makers, especially policymakers, with essential insights into the benefits of population-based interventions that can improve public health. By integrating state-of-the-art methods from various academic disciplines, the project aims to advance research in the field of public health. “In particular, I will combine quasi-experimental and model-based approaches with the help of large national and international data infrastructures,” concludes Prof. Laxy who was appointed to the Leopoldina's working group on strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity due to his expertise.