Obesity Action Coalition Blog

In the coming weeks and months, state legislative sessions will begin to start-up all across the country. The OAC anticipates another active year of educating legislators on obesity, its consequences and treatments.

This year we would like to recruit a number of volunteers in each state to actively support legislator education. Volunteers will be known as STARs (or State Advocacy Resources). If you are passionate about making a difference in the lives of those affected by obesity, sharing your personal story and working to improve access to care, we encourage you to submit via e-mail to info@obesityaction.org your name, contact information, e-mail address and a brief bio to be added to our list of legislative advocates. Experience is great, but not necessary.

Together we can make a difference so please consider becoming an OAC STAR (State Advocacy Resource) today.

In the latest issue of OAC News, the OAC features a Q&A interview with Senator Clegg from the state of New Hampshire. Senator Clegg was instrumental in increasing access to obesity management services in his home state. He talks in-depth about the challenges of weight-loss in addition to the challenges of passing SB 312, which increased coverage in the state of New Hampshire. To view the Q&A, please click here.

The OAC’s membership is growing on a daily basis. In fact, more than 600 percent just this year alone. To date more than 6,500 of you have joined.

Although our membership numbers are growing rapidly, reality is our membership numbers need to grow even more to strengthen our voice. So if you haven’t yet joined the OAC or your membership expired, please join or renew today.

In addition to ensuring that the voice of those affected by obesity is represented, membership includes a wide variety of educational benefits. To learn more about all of the benefits of membership and to join, click here.

As his office advances its Childhood Overweight and Obesity Prevention Initiative, U.S. Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, MD, will make a keynote presentation at the 3rd Annual World Congress on Obesity, November 20 – 21 in Washington DC, on the progress of a “Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future,” which aims to shrink the ranks of the nation’s 12.5 million overweight children by promoting healthy eating and physical activity among youths.

Obesity-related illnesses cause more than 400,000 deaths in the United States each year and billions of dollars in health care costs. The Congress will address both a consumer and business-oriented perspective to obesity’s impact on individual and public health. It will also examine the effectiveness of programs and procedures designed to reduce the prevalence of obesity.

In addition to the keynote presentation from U.S. Surgeon General Galson, the Congress will introduce other approaches to battling childhood obesity, workplace weight management programs as well as the financial impact of obesity, and the success of invasive treatments, such as lap band surgery. The nation’s leading obesity experts will join senior business leaders, health care thought leaders and local, state and national officials who are developing initiatives to combat obesity.  

WHAT: The 3rd Annual World Congress on Obesity
WHEN: November 20 – 21, 2008
WHERE: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC
CONTACT: Patrick Golden, Director of Communications 781-939-2511 or Patrick.golden@worldcongress.com
CONGRESS AGENDA: www.worldcongress.com/obesity

Topics include:

• The role of wellness and chronic care in the 2009 health care reform debate
• Covering the treatment of obesity – An Employers’ and Patients’ Point of View
• What federal, state and local officials are doing to improve health care
• Strategies for obesity management in the workforce
• The effectiveness of obesity management programs
• Success stories in programs that involve industries, schools and communities
• Raising visibility on obesity through an innovative video game platform
• Community and State-Wide Programs That Promote Healthier Eating
• The effects of obesity on the world economy
• How Policymakers Have Become Involved in the Obesity Crisis
• Bariatric Surgery Centers – Treating the Whole Patient and Not Just the Weight

Learn more at www.worldcongress.com/obesity. Save an extra $300.00 off the current rate, government excluded, with promotional code DQG377. Contact World Congress at 800-767-9499 to qualify.