The Campaign to End Obesity






Today, two-thirds of U.S. adults and nearly one in three children struggle because they are overweight or have obesity.  The effects of the nation’s obesity epidemic are immense:  taxpayers, businesses, communities and individuals spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year due to obesity, including an estimated $168 billion in medical costs.  Obesity is the reason that the current generation of youth is predicted to live a shorter life than their parents. 

Much can be done to reverse the epidemic, yet important opportunities to tackle obesity at the national policy level -- including changes that enable more Americans to eat healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate medical treatment for patients -- have gone largely unmet.  The Campaign works to fill this gap.  By bringing together leaders from across industry, academia and public health with policymakers and their advisors, the Campaign provides the information and guidance that decision-makers need to make policy changes that will reverse one of the nation’s costliest and most prevalent diseases.

 

  

The Campaign to End Obesity
Obesity is bankrupting America, disease costs soar
Natural News, 5.6.12
New analyses of data surrounding obesity reveal that it is costing the nation twice as much in medical bills as previously thought - even more than smoking. "As committee chairmen, Cabinet secretaries, the head of Medicare and health officials see these really high costs, they are more interested in knowing, 'what policy knob can I turn to stop this hemorrhage?'" Michael O'Grady of the National Opinion Research Center told Reuters. O'Grady is the author of a new report called the Campaign to End Obesity, "which brings together representatives from business, academia and the public health community to work with policymakers on the issue," the Newswire reported.
Will Obesity Reverse Rise in U.S. Life Expectancy?
PBS, 5.8.12
Public health experts have long warned of a growing obesity epidemic in America. This week, the Institute of Medicine and others launched a major campaign in hopes of curbing the problem. Ray Suarez and Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health, and Tevi Troy, who frequently collaborates with the Campaign to End Obesity, discuss the personal and public consequences of obesity.
Obesity could affect 42% of Americans by 2030
USA Today, 5.6.12
A new forecast on obesity in America has health experts fearing a dramatic jump in health care costs if nothing is done to bring it under control. The projection, released Monday, warns that 42% of Americans may end up obese by 2030 (up from 36% in 2010), and 11% could be severely obese, roughly 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight (vs. 6% in 2010). "If nothing is done, it's going to hinder efforts for health care cost containment," says Justin Trogdon, a research economist with RTI International, a non-profit organization in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.
IOM Report Identifies Key Obesity-Prevention Strategies to Scale Back 'Weight of the Nation'
The National Academies, 5.8.12
America's progress in arresting its obesity epidemic has been too slow, and the condition continues to erode productivity and cause millions to suffer from potentially debilitating and deadly chronic illnesses, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Solving this complex, stubborn problem requires a comprehensive set of solutions that work together to spur across-the-board societal change, said the committee that wrote the report. It identifies strategies with the greatest potential to accelerate success by making healthy foods and beverages and opportunities for physical activity easy, routine, and appealing aspects of daily life.
As America's waistline expands, costs soar
Reuters, 4.30.12
The nation's rising rate of obesity has been well-chronicled. But businesses, governments and individuals are only now coming to grips with the costs of those extra pounds, many of which are even greater than believed only a few years ago: The additional medical spending due to obesity is double previous estimates and exceeds even those of smoking, a new study shows. "As committee chairmen, Cabinet secretaries, the head of Medicare and health officials see these really high costs, they are more interested in knowing, 'what policy knob can I turn to stop this hemorrhage?'" said Michael O'Grady of the National Opinion Research Center, co-author of a new report for the Campaign to End Obesity, which brings together representatives from business, academia and the public health community to work with policymakers on the issue.
America’s costliest disease
Daily Caller, 5.3.12
The United States is rushing toward a health and economic catastrophe, with significant repercussions on our global competitiveness and national security. The emerging obesity epidemic has no real parallel with any other health crisis in our history. In the past, we have met the challenges of epidemics and other serious diseases and emerged with new knowledge, new technologies and superior tools to better our nation’s health. We need to take the same approach with obesity, coming up with tested and reasonable programs that both address the problem and help inspire new life-saving and wealth-creating technologies. Toward that end, a report from the Campaign to End Obesity examining the economics of obesity makes a very strong case that obesity prevention and intervention efforts can provide cost-effective improvements in health and generate long-term budget savings for our country.
In childhood obesity, a growing socioeconomic gap
Washington Post, 5.1.12
There’s actually been some good news on obesity in recent years. After years of steady increases, new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data has suggested that rates are beginning to plateau, if not decline slightly. That data, however, looks like it might be masking a troubling trend: A growing socioeconomic disparity in obesity rates, with most prevention gains being made among higher earners.
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House Republicans Raid Prevention Fund
This afternoon, despite a veto threat from the White House, the House of Representatives voted 215 to 195 to approve legislation that would extend the interest rate paid on federal student loans.  The legislation was paid for by cutting funding to the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act.

NewPublicHealh.org: The Cost of Obesity and ROI of Prevention
A new report, Assessing the Economics of Obesity and Obesity Interventions, by researchers from the Campaign to End Obesity,  looks at the costs of the obesity epidemic and the possible array of interventions that could prevent obesity and save the country money.

Obesity Costs take a greater toll on America’s health and economy

Today, the Campaign to End Obesity expressed concerns over new findings in a report by Cornell University researchers. According to the report, “The Medical Care Costs of Obesity,” it is now believed that the total cost of health care associated with U.S. obesity is $190.2 billion a year, or 20.6 percent of total U.S. health spending – twice as much as previously reported.

New Obesity Counseling Coverage Can Help Patients And Taxpayers
By  Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH, Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas and Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI). Dr. Thompson serves on the board of the Campaign to End Obesity.

With primary care medicine facing ever increasing pressures—fewer doctors to treat more patients and a continual maze of restrictions on reimbursement—primary care practitioners are trying to diagnose and treat obesity with one hand tied behind their backs. The result, unfortunately, is that for what is likely the nation’s costliest disease, strains on coverage have been yet another needless hurdle to getting patients diagnosed and treated in a clinical environment.


A comprehensive approach to diagnosing and treating obesity is just good medicine, and physicians need good reimbursement policies to make this practice practical. Fortunately, a recent ruling out from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is one bright spot in beginning to change this trend. CMS has ruled that it will cover services for high intensity obesity counseling. 

Congressional Workshop to Explore Fact vs. Fiction in Obesity Policy
On Thursday, July 14, the Campaign to End Obesity will convene congressional staff, key members of the public health community and industry to identify causes of the obesity epidemic and potential solutions. “Fact v. Fiction: The TRUTH about Obesity in America” will consider what science says are the main contributors to overweight and obesity; what is being done at the community and policy levels in response to the epidemic; and what hurdles exist in treating obesity.

Campaign Names New Board Chair
The Campaign to End Obesity today announced that Karen Licitra, Johnson & Johnson Company Group Chairman and Worldwide Franchise Chairman for Ethicon Endo-Surgery will assume the position of Board Chair.

Campaign Lauds IOM Recommendations for Early Childhood Obesity Prevention

The Campaign to End Obesity today applauded policy recommendations in a new Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies.

Campaign Honors Congressional Champions for Work Combating Obesity 
The Campaign to End Obesity recognized eight outstanding Members of Congress whose work has been instrumental in moving forward provisions to end the obesity epidemic. In its fourth annual “Breakfast with Champions,” leaders from across industry, academia and public health convened to acknowledge these key players in health care, nutrition and transportation policy, among other areas. The event also served to encourage these visionaries’ colleagues to take up needed reforms that will reverse one of America’s costliest medical challenges.
 
What the Different Budget Proposals Mean for Obesity Prevention and Treatment
As the White House and Congress continue to refine budget proposals for the remainder of FY 2011 and beyond, several proposals have been introduced that would threaten or reduce funding for critical obesity prevention and treatment programs. These include a six-month spending bill for 2011 (H.R. 1473) that is expected to pass the House and Senate by April 15; House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal for FY 2012 (covering the next ten years); and President Obama’s Proposed budget for FY 2012. Below are summaries of how each of the three plans could potentially impact anti-obesity programs.

Arkansas Surgeon General, Dr. Joe Thompson, Joins Campaign to End Obesity Board of Directors
The Campaign to End Obesity announced the addition of Dr. Joe Thompson to its Board of Directors. Thompson brings significant expertise from both clinical and policy perspectives as Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas, Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) and Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity (RWJF Center).

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To learn more about changes in federal policy that will enable more Americans to eat healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate medical treatment for patients, visit the Campaign to End Obesity Action Fund's website by clicking here.  




* In 2010, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that nearly 20 percent of the increase in U.S. health care spending (from 1987‐2007) was caused by obesity.

* The annual health costs related to obesity in the U.S. are as high as $168 billion, and nearly 17 percent of U.S. medical costs can be attributed on obesity, according to research released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.


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