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.
US obesity epidemic shows no signs of reversing course, reports on kids and adults show
Associated Press, 1.17.12 America’s obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.
Schools pressed to do more to keep kids fit
McClatchy-Tribune, 1.16.12 Testing has driven the nation's education agenda during the No Child Left Behind decade, but now another debate is emerging: how much physical education children need during the school day. As childhood obesity rates climb to disturbing levels, some say schools must do more than hold daily recess when it comes to keeping children fit. At the same time, a growing body of research suggests that exercise boosts students' learning and academic achievement.
Latino families battling childhood obesity
Minnesota Public Radio, 1.16.12 In urban and rural areas across the United States, Latino children are more likely than their non-Latino white peers to be overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nearly 40 percent of Latino children in the United States are overweight or obese.
Kids may have higher obesity risk if dad is overweight, study says
LA Times, 1.20.12 Kids might be at higher risk for obesity if dad is overweight, a study suggests. Other studies have shown an association between two overweight parents and higher weight in their children, and weight relationships between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters.
IOM Partners in 'The Weight of the Nation,' A New National Initiative to Confront Obesity Crisis
Institute of Medicine, 1.13.12 As obesity continues to diminish the quality of people's lives and raise health care costs, the Institute of Medicine is pleased to join HBO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente in developing "The Weight of the Nation," a new national campaign tackling the obesity crisis.
Worries mount over lack of physical education in schools
McClatchy Newspapers, 1.4.12 With public schools cutting back on spending for physical education, some members of Congress want to intervene… The cutbacks are happening across the country.
Exercise Hormone May Fight Obesity and Diabetes
New York Times, 1.11.12 A newly discovered hormone produced in response to exercise may be turning people’s white fat brown, a groundbreaking new study suggests, and in the process lessening their susceptibility to obesity, diabetes and other health problems.
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 practicepractical. Fortunately,a recent rulingout 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.
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 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.
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).
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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