Law is an essential tool for public health practice, and the use of a systematic legal framework can assist with preventing chronic diseases and addressing the growing epidemic of obesity.1 The action options available to government at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels and its partners can help make the population healthier by preventing obesity and decreasing the growing burden of associated chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses the four-part systematic legal framework commonly referred to as "public health legal preparedness" to demonstrate the essential role law can play for any public health issue.2 This paper uses the "laws and legal authorities" component of the framework and should be considered in combination with the competencies, coordination, and information-best practices components of the framework.3 Throughout this paper we provide examples of how current laws and legal authorities affect the public health goal of preventing obesity in both a positive and negative way.
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