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.
Congressional Workshop Series Dollars and Sense: What Economic Incentives Work to Address
Obesity
The Campaign to End Obesity was formed in 2007 following the first National Summit on Obesity Policy. During the Summit, more than 100 diverse thought leaders identified an action agenda for federal policy, and the need for this organization to support their common cause.
Speakers included Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA; now chair, Senate HELP Committee); Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK; member, Senate Appropriations Committee); Dr. Peter Orszag (now director, Office of Management and Budget) and Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Participants included ABC/Disney, American Cancer Society, American College of Gastroenterology, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Congressional Budget Office, Discovery Health, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Girl Scouts of the USA, Grocery Manufacturers Association, Harvard University School of Medicine, Hill & Knowlton, Johnson & Johnson, National Hispanic Medical Association, Sanofi-aventis U.S., Trust for America's Health, University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Yale University/Rudd Center on Food Policy and Obesity and YMCA of the USA.
The Summit was held May 8-9, 2007, at the Ronald Regan Center in Washington, D.C.
