Although several obesity treatment guidelines have been published for obesity specialists, many patients report that it is difficult to receive the care they need because the standards for obesity care are so disparate across health care settings.
Over the past two decades, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invested in two major multi-center studies aimed at obesity prevention in low-income Hispanic and African American children: the Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research Consortium (COPTR) and the Girls’ Health Enrichment Multisite Studies (GEMS).
Because the human liver filters toxins and redistributes nutrients, it is one of the most important and versatile organs in the human body. While a healthy liver composed of about 5% fat by mass can regenerate when damaged, the accumulation of excess hepatic (liver) fat can impair liver functioning and silently increase an individual’s risk for diabetes, heart disease, and premature death.
This February we are pleased to join the American Association for Cancer Research in supporting National Cancer Prevention Month. An estimated 1,762,450 new cancer cases will be diagnosed—more than 4,800 each day—and 606,880 cancer deaths will occur in the United States this year. Roughly half of these cancers will be attributable to preventable causes.
The global increase in obesity is a visible marker of serious systemic problems with contemporary food systems, living environments, and social equity.
As fiduciaries of both Medicaid and state employee health insurance programs, state governments bear a large portion of the direct and indirect costs of adult obesity. Reducing the burden of diseases associated with obesity is a goal of many state policymakers, but the resources devoted to achieving this goal—such as comprehensive coverage for evidence-based obesity treatments—are highly variable across jurisdictions and often inadequate.
Expanded coverage for conventional obesity treatment modalities—intensive lifestyle interventions, anti-obesity medications, and bariatric surgery—is a positive development for individuals with obesity. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to obesity management, and not all individuals find success with these standard treatments.
Obesity is often seen as a U.S. problem, but it has now moved well beyond US borders. Earlier this month, experts from around the globe shared international perspectives during a National Academy of Medicine workshop addressing the global obesity pandemic. The U.S. may be a leader in its focus on obesity treatment, but we lag behind many other nations when it comes to preventing the disease.
More than 93 million Americans currently have obesity, and obesity rates have doubled among adults in the last 20 years. It’s time to change the way we care about obesity. With obesity on the rise, our organization, alongside other organizations, must attack this disease from multiple angles and unite to overhaul the treatment of obesity. At the STOP Obesity Alliance, we recognize this challenge and the important role we can play.
Medical professionals are not minted overnight. Health professions grow and transform over decades, not months. While policies and strategies to address America’s chronic diseases shape the healthcare workforce, they are also shaped by it.
A growing body of evidence indicates that obesity has a detrimentalimpact on reproductive potential in women. In addition to reduced fertility, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), excessive gestational weight gain, and postpartum weight retention are collectively associated with adverse fetal development, obstetric complications, and long-term health outcomes for mothers and their offspring.
June 2018 marked the tenth annual National Employee Wellbeing Month (NEWM). NEWM spotlights the workplace’s role in helping to create healthier, happier employees. The month highlights how wellbeing-minded organizations lead to more productive, engaged workforces and create magnetic company cultures that drive recruitment and retention.
Earlier this year, we published findings from a 2016 national survey of family practitioners (FPs), internists, obstetricians/gynecologists (OB-GYNs), and nurse practitioners (NPs) (total n = 1,506) indicating that most health care professionals (HCPs) lack basic knowledge of current guidelines for the non-surgical treatment of obesity.
Language matters. The words we use to discuss health and disease directly impact beliefs, behaviors, and experiences.