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May, 2010

Letter From The Director
Greetings!  
  
Health is the Achilles heel of corporate America, according to a recent Huffington Post article.  I couldn't agree more.  The Milken Institute has estimated the annual economic impact on the U.S. economy of the most common chronic diseases to be more than $1 trillion, saying it could balloon to more than $6 trillion by the middle of the century.  
 
Even with the enactment of federal health reform, the need for companies to address and improve the health of their employees in order to control rising health care costs - and maintain a happy, productive workforce - remains paramount.  A solution will take all of us coming together to address the issue in a range of settings.
 
The workplace is one setting that is increasingly viewed as an ideal place to address health issues.  Let's face it, the majority of us spend more time awake at our workplaces than anywhere else - so it's in an employer's best interest to encourage employees to develop healthy habits.  And what's more, both employers and employees agree that health issues, specifically obesity, should be addressed in the workplace.  A STOP Obesity Alliance survey of employers and employees found that 92 percent of employers at larger companies thought weight management programs were appropriate at work.  And eight out of 10 employees, no matter their weight, said weight management programs belong at work.  
 
Even though the signs all point to a willingness to take action in the workplace on these health issues, many employers may simply not have the resources or information on what works to be able to effectively address the situation.  It's a tough spot - especially when people want to do the right thing, but the path forward is uncertain.
 
To help, the Alliance is sponsoring National Employee Wellness Month (NEWM) (June 2010) for the second consecutive year.  NEWM, also sponsored by Virgin HealthMiles and the Institute for Health and Productivity Management, is an initiative that highlights the importance of creating healthier and more physically active communities in the workplace and the critical role a proactive approach toward wellness plays in reducing national healthcare costs.  It also offers an opportunity to educate employers and employees about the benefits of preventative health within the workplace. 
 
Given the need for efforts across many sectors to work to improve health, coupled with the current economic situation, there is no time like the present to be proactive and pledge your support to NEWM.  This year, more than 80 leading organizations across the U.S., up from 60 last year, have pledged their support to NEWM.  I encourage you to visit the NEWM website to learn more.
 
I'm looking forward to taking this year's NEWM to new levels of awareness and success.  Please take a moment to lend your support. 
 
Sincerely,

Christine C. Ferguson, J.D.
Director, STOP Obesity Alliance
Research Professor
School of Public Health and Health Services
Department of Health Policy
The George Washington University		christy
In This Issue
Alliance & Member News
News Round-Up

Alliance & Member News

Alliance Partners with Virgin HealthMiles and Institute for Health and Productivity Management to Promote National Employee Wellness Month
The STOP Obesity Alliance is joining forces with Virgin HealthMiles and the Institute for Health and Productivity Management to sponsor the second annual National Employee Wellness Month (NEWM) in June.  NEWM efforts will raise awareness about the role employers play in workplace wellness and how preventive, healthy employee behavior can improve health and combat our nation's rising health care costs.  Click here for more information on NEWM.

Task Force on Women Launched During National Women's Health Week 2010
The STOP Obesity Alliance Task Force on Women was launched during National Women's Health Week on May 11, 2010.  The Task Force, a group of 15 prestigious women's health, chronic disease, ethnic minority and access-to-care organizations, met for the first time to discuss topics including the role of women as 'chief health officer' for their families and the social, cultural and systemic barriers to addressing obesity and weight-related chronic diseases in women.  Click here for more information about the initial meeting and to view a list of organizations involved in the Task Force.
 
Christine Ferguson Speaks at Fourth Annual Chronic Care and Prevention Congress
Alliance Director Christine Ferguson participated in the Fourth Annual Chronic Care and Prevention Congress May 11-13, 2010 in Alexandria, Va.  Employers, health care providers and government agencies came together for the event to discuss best practices for the management of chronic disease and the implementation of prevention and wellness strategies.  Ferguson discussed how health reform implementation will affect obesity, including the roles of prevention and intervention, in a one-hour session at the event.  Other Alliance Steering Committee and Associate Members spoke at the event, including Julie Sanderson-Austin, R.N., American Medical Group Association and Gordon K. Norman, M.D., M.B.A., DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance.  For more information about the Congress, click here.  
 
STOP Obesity Alliance Supports First-Ever European Obesity Day on May 22
The Alliance supported the first-ever European Obesity Day on May 22, 2010, created to raise awareness of the need for action on obesity in Europe and ensure that the voices of overweight and obese patients are heard.  This year's campaign, "5-10 for a Healthier Europe," aimed to harness support and backing to help overweight citizens lose 5-10 percent of their overall body weight.  Click here for more information. 
 
STOP Obesity Alliance in the News 
The Alliance was featured in several news stories this month, including an article by Alliance Director Christine Ferguson on strategies to effectively respond to the obesity epidemic entitled, "Prevention Efforts Must Focus on Obesity" in the National Journal. AAFP News Now interviewed Alliance Health and Wellness Chairperson Dr. Richard Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, 17th U.S. Surgeon General (2002-2006), for an article entitled, "Federal Government Takes Bigger Role in Combating Obesity: Far Reaching Initiatives Aim to Halt National Epidemic." The Spring 2010 issue of Medicine and Health, the magazine of the GW Medical Center, included a feature story on the Alliance entitled, "The Biggest Conversation We're Not Having."  And, Nancy Logue, Ph.D., Afton Alliance, penned a blog titled, "What's a Mother to Do," to help mothers better communicate about weight and health to their children that mentions the National Eating Disorders Association and STOP Obesity Alliance "Weighty Matters: Effectively Communicating About Weight and Health" roundtable.  
 
Alliance Members in the News
Several Alliance Steering Committee and Associate Members were featured in news stories this month including:
 
CEO and AHA Team Up With Policymakers to Introduce New Obesity Legislation
Alliance Members Campaign to End Obesity (CEO) and the American Heart Association (AHA) joined forces with U.S. Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Mary Bono-Mack (R-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Marcia Fudge (D-OH) to unveil the Healthy Communities through Helping to Offer Incentives and Choices to Everyone in Society Act (Healthy CHOICES Act), during a May 5, 2010 event on Capitol Hill.  The legislation will bring together the food industry, health care industry and government to comprehensively fight the epidemic by ensuring the treatment and prevention of obesity.  
 
The Obesity Society Releases Program for Obesity 2010
The Obesity Society has released an advance program for Obesity 2010, their 28th Annual Scientific Meeting.  Obesity 2010, which will take place in San Diego, Calif., October 8-12, 2010, brings together clinical researchers, educators, advocates and practitioners in the field of obesity and is dedicated to increasing knowledge, stimulating research and promoting prevention and better treatment for those affected by obesity.  The advance program includes a full listing of the scientific sessions, educational symposia, oral and poster presentations and key lectures that will be featured at the event.  Click here to register. 
 
BEDA Issues Call for Proposals for 2011 Conference
The Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) is accepting proposals for workshops and poster presentations at their 2011 National Conference, "Coming into the Light: Strategies and Hope for Recovery in BED and Associated Conditions."  The event provides a forum to discuss diverse viewpoints to benefit those affected by binge eating disorders and associated conditions.  It will take place March 30-April 2, 2011 in Scottsdale, Ariz.  Click here for more information and to submit a proposal.  
 
Legislators Vote to Make September National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Rep. Marcia Fudge's (D-OH) resolution to designate September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  A similar resolution was passed by the Senate in March, sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).  These resolutions will help to aggressively reduce obesity, raise awareness for health, wellness and prevention and improve health care costs.  In January, the Alliance and several of its Members announced their support of the designation.  Click here for more information on the legislation.  
 
 
Alliance Member Conferences in June 2010 
Several Alliance Members will host annual conferences and meetings in June: 

News Round-Up
Checking Up on the Doctor: What Patients Can Learn From the Ways Physicians Take Care of Themselves
May 25, 2010
The Wall Street Journal
Melinda Beck
 
A number of surveys, polls and questionnaires given to doctors show that those who exercise and watch their weight are more likely to counsel patients to do the same and are viewed as more credible by their patients.  The Physicians' Health Study, which has followed the health practices of approximately 25,000 male doctors since 1982, also found that those who exercised daily were only half as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes as those who did not exercise daily.

Fat People Who Deny Their Plus Size
May 24, 2010
The San Francisco Chronicle
Suzanne Leigh

According to Sara Bird, the British author who recently published "Fatorexia: What Do You See When You Look in the Mirror?", some overweight and obese people fail to see true size, believing instead that they are a healthy weight.  A 2008 study published in the British Medical Journal found that one-quarter of obese or overweight adults did not view themselves as overweight, and earlier this year, a Dutch study reported that 75 percent of mothers thought their overweight child was a normal weight. 
 
Waist to Height Ratio: The New Determinant of Health Risk
May 23, 2010
NewOrleans.com
Mackie Shilstone

A recent study presented in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism showed that the waist-to-height ratio was the strongest predictor of cardiovascular risk and mortality and that body mass index was not always positively associated with cardiovascular risk. 
 
Food Companies Will Remove 1.5 Trillion Calories
May 17, 2010
Associated Press
Mary Claire Jalonick

Several of the nation's largest food companies will take 1.5 trillion calories out of their products by 2015 in an effort to reduce childhood obesity.  The companies made the announcement through the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition of retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and industry trade associations.    
 
Big Nation. Big People. It's Clearly a Big Deal
May 17, 2010
The New York Times
Alessandra Stanley
 
Alessandra Stanley discusses "One Nation, Overweight," the CNBC documentary that provides a portrait of the obesity epidemic in America.  In the documentary, CNBC correspondent Scott Wapner interviews Americans struggling to overcome obesity, some of whom have resorted to surgery, medical therapies and other weight-loss methods.  Stanley argues that the effort to portray the problem - and the solutions - mirrors the way most Americans eat.
 
Obesity Prevention in Women: Tipping the Scales Towards Health
May 14, 2010
The Huffington Post
Susan Blumenthal, M.D.

Susan Blumenthal, M.D., director of the health and medicine program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, writes an op-ed during National Women's Health Week that reminds us that until fairly recently sex differences in health issues like obesity were neglected at the research bench, in public policy circles and in clinical settings in our country.  "As we commemorate National Women's Health Week, let's ensure that our national initiatives in obesity research, education, prevention and service delivery include a focus on women and girls," she says. 
 
Quick Weight Loss May Be Best for Long-Term Success
May 14, 2010
BusinessWeek
Kathleen Doheny
 
A new study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that obese women who started out losing 1.5 pounds a week or more on average and kept it up lost more weight over time than women who lost weight at a slower rate.  The obese women who lost weight at a quicker rate also maintained the weight loss for a longer period of time.  
 
Groups Vie For a Piece of Health Law's $15 Billion Prevention Fund
May 7, 2010
Kaiser Health News
Julie Appleby

The new health reform law includes a $15 billion prevention fund that should be distributed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services over the course of the next ten years.  According to reports, there is a sharp divide on how to spend the money, with some non-profit groups wanting the bulk of the money to prevent specific diseases, while others advocate using the fund to transform communities to make it easier to exercise and buy fresh produce.  

Bullies Target Obese Kids
May 3, 2010
HealthDay
Serena Gordon

According to researchers from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, weight status played a larger role than other factors such as gender, race, socioeconomic status or academic achievement in predicting if a child will be picked on in the third, fifth and sixth grades.  Researchers studied 821 children in elementary school ages 8 to 11 who had given reports of being bullied, and the odds of being bullied were about 63 percent higher for an obese child, compared to a healthy-weight peer.  
 
Nature and Nachos: How Fat Happens
May 1, 2010
The Wall Street Journal
Kelly Brownell

Kelly Brownell, the director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, writes that while genetics can help determine which individuals within a population might be most vulnerable to becoming overweight, the number of people that become overweight is determined by external factors.  According to Brownell, there are specific environmental factors that contribute to obesity, including food marketing to children and the increase in portion sizes.
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The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance receives funding from founding sponsor, sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC and supporting sponsors, Allergan, Inc. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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