January, 2009
Letter From The Director Greetings! There's nothing quite like getting back in the office after the holidays, is there?    With the beginning of a new year, things at work always seem to take on a new urgency.  New budgets, new projects and new deadlines await us.  Calendars begin to fill up with meetings and appointments, and before long, we're feeling the strain of maintaining those New Year's resolutions.   It's a lesson that many of us have learned the hard way: if you're not careful, your work style can determine your lifestyle.  But for an individual struggling to overcome obesity, the consequences can be even more daunting.  As the stress and the long hours return, healthy habits are quickly sacrificed. Before long, the sick days start to accumulate, productivity suffers and the boss starts wondering why you're falling behind. Suddenly, your personal problems have become professional problems.   And you're not alone.  Take the results of the STOP Obesity Alliance workplace obesity survey which appears in the January/February edition of the prestigious health policy journal, Health Affairs. While the results indicate that employers and employees agree that the workplace is an appropriate place for obesity management programs, a majority of surveyed employers also confirmed that they did not believe that their company had given enough attention to the problem of obesity.  Additionally, employers and employees both expressed a preference for incentive-based programs for weight loss and healthy lifestyle modifications, instead of punitive measures.    And while employers recognize their role in helping their employees' efforts, it's equally important to note that employers also believe that they share this responsibility with other parties, including physicians, the government, health insurers and the food and beverage industry. This kind of a holistic approach to obesity intervention and prevention reinforces the approach the STOP Obesity Alliance has expressed in its policy recommendations and tools, like the Obesity GPS.   Sincerely, Christine C. Ferguson, JD Director, The STOP Obesity Alliance Associate Research Professor School of Public Health and Health Services Department of Health Policy The George Washington University	In This Issue Alliance & Steering Committee Member News News Round-Up
Alliance & Steering Committee Member News STOP Obesity Alliance Survey Findings Published in Health Affairs The January/February issue of the prestigious health policy journal, Health Affairs, focuses on America's crisis in chronic disease and includes an article reporting on findings in the STOP Obesity Alliance-funded workplace survey. Entitled "Obesity and the Workplace:  Current Programs and Attitudes Among Employers and Employees," the article discusses the key survey findings including how employers are connecting obesity, health, productivity and their bottom line. The article relates the findings to the pending discussion of national health reform. The authors note that, "many of the services necessary to address obesity, such as weight and disease management programs, do not lend themselves to the fee-for-service, acute care medical model." To read more of the article, click here.  Alliance Director Provides Obesity Insights in Health Reform Article Christine Ferguson adds insights in a recent Reuters article highlighting the difficulties the United States will face during the reform of health care - including how to take on obesity. Ferguson said the stigma surrounding obesity contributes to the de-prioritization by all levels of government to address the crisis. Click here to read the full text of the article. AHA Publishes New Scientific Statement, "Progress and Challenges in Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents" The American Heart Association published a new scientific statement, "Progress and Challenges in the Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents," saying that clinicians should recognize high-risk children, measure and treat the individual components of metabolic syndrome, and concentrate on interventions to improve diet and exercise.  For more information, please click here.     AMGA Addresses Obesity in New Healthcare Reform Priorities American Medical Group Association recently released its healthcare reform priorities, beginning with a call for universal access to healthcare and focusing on systemic changes to improve the quality of healthcare for America's patients. Some of the major recommendations include calls for adoption of prevention and wellness practices to address chronic disease and obesity, delivery system reform, and community-based accountability for healthcare services.  View the full text of the priorities here.   CDC:  DNPAO Introduces New Research and Tools to Help Americans Understand and Manage the Country's Growing Obesity Epidemic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:  Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity introduced a new set of tools and resources to help adults achieve and maintain a healthy weight throughout their lifetimes. "Healthy Weight- It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle," includes tools to assist in determining BMI, balancing calories and encouraging healthy eating and physical activity.  The tools help adults adopt an ongoing lifestyle that they can stay with for years to come. Click here to access the tools and learn more about the program.    CDC has also put together a series of policy and environmental measures necessary to halt America's obesity epidemic including supporting state-based programs, providing technical assistance and training, developing innovative partnerships and translating practice-based research and evidence.  For more information and to view the guide, click here.   Partnership for Prevention's Chairman Urges Congress to Beef Up Task Force on Community Preventive Services  Partnership for Prevention's Chairman has urged Congress to increase and stabilize resources for the U.S. Task Force on Community Preventive Services, saying that "The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, supported by CDC staff, has had erratic and consistently insufficient funding. It has only been able to cover a minority of the possibly effective community policies and programs, and it has had virtually no funding to disseminate its findings," Jonathan Fielding, MD, MPH, testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Click here to view the full recommendation.   AHIP to Hold Virtual Seminar On Medical Homes  America's Health Insurance Plans will hold a virtual seminar, "Medical Homes:  Nirvana or Neverland" on February 19. Speakers will discuss the recent buzz surrounding the medical home model and address the expectations of cost savings. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here. News Round-Up Top Army Recruiter Weighs Fat Camp for Recruits January 12, 2009 Associated Press By Susanne M. Schafer The Army has been dismissing so many overweight applicants that the head of the Army Recruiting Command, Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, is considering starting a fat camp to transform chubby trainees into svelte soldiers. Bostick told The Associated Press that obesity looms as "a bigger challenge for us in the years ahead" than any other problem that keeps young people from entering the military, including lack of a GED or high school diploma, misconduct or criminal behavior and other health issues such as eye or ear problems.   Study Finds Number Of Obese Americans Outweighs Merely Overweight January 12, 2009 All Headline News.com By Julie Farby   A National Center for Health Statistics study finds some grim news on the obesity front. According to the findings, the number of obese American adults outweighs the number of those who are considered merely overweight for the first time.  The study shows that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are overweight, with just under 6 percent classified as "extremely" obese. The NCHS study found that more than one-third of adults, or over 72 million people were obese when the study was conducted in 2005-2006, the most current figures released.   More Americans getting multiple chronic illnesses January 6, 2009 Reuters More Americans are burdened by chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, often having more than three at a time, and this has helped fuel a big rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses.  With prescription drugs playing a key role, average annual out-of-pocket medical costs -- those not covered by health insurance -- rose from $427 per American in 1996 to $741 in 2005, researchers wrote in the journal Health Affairs.  The study did not look directly at the causes of the increases, but there appear to be several factors including the rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyles.  Obesity contributes to many chronic ailments including diabetes. U.S. health officials say the rate of new cases of diabetes soared by about 90 percent in the past decade. The Strategies to Overcome & Prevent Obesity Alliance is sponsored by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC.

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