STOP Obesity Alliance - Strategies To Overcome And Prevent
April 2012 Issue
IN THIS ISSUE
Alliance & Member News
News Round-Up

Greetings!

 

Every day, parents and other caregivers are confronted with myriad questions and situations that not only are challenging and unanticipated, but for which they are unprepared. Those of you with children can most likely relate to that uncomfortable feeling of being caught off guard when your child asks you a question that is hard to answer.


Questions about a child's weight are particularly difficult to answer since feelings about overweight and obesity are often complicated by both a caregiver's personal issues and the messages that are communicated about weight through media and society at large. But complexity won't stop the questions from coming, especially since more than 12.5 million children in the country suffer from obesity.


One of our underlying principles in the Alliance's Task Force on Women is that we will only be successful in overcoming childhood obesity if we address adult obesity - providing the role models and support systems every child needs in tackling any health problem. Unfortunately, in a review of available literature, we have been able to find very little to help enable and/or improve the -- how shall I best say this as a parent -- uninformed "conversations" between parents and children regarding weight and health. 


Here's what we did uncover. A WebMD/Sanford Health survey found that parents of teens find it more difficult to talk about weight with their child than about sex, drugs, alcohol, or smoking!  For parents of kids 8-12 years old, only sex is a more uncomfortable topic.  Additionally, there is very little practical and responsible information available to parents and other caregivers on communicating with children about health and weight.  At the same time, it's becoming clearer that parents and other adult caregivers could play a central role in treating children with obesity. An article recently published in the American Heart Association's Circulation journal, found powerful evidence that with the identification of specific parenting strategies or approaches, parents could be more effective "agents of change" for children with obesity.


To help us down that path, the STOP Obesity Alliance, in collaboration with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, is undertaking a new initiative focused on the family. We began this month by convening an expert roundtable to discuss the issues, in particular how to create better communication about weight between parents and children. The goal is to create tools that better equip parents and caregivers to talk about weight and health in ways that are factual, meaningful and helpful. 


Helping parents better communicate about weight with their children may help create a better understanding and put us on a path to eliminate bias, which we know is prevalent towards those with obesity -- no matter what age.  As new research recently showed, children as young as first grade may be shunned by their peers if they are overweight or obese.  With one-third of children under the age of five falling into that category, it is imperative that we eliminate the stigma surrounding obesity.


We anticipate an intriguing journey as we develop this parent-child dialogue tool and look forward to working with our collaborators and Alliance members along the way.  If you'd like more information, please reach out to the STOP Obesity Alliance staff and me at [email protected]. 

 

Sincerely,
 

Christine C. Ferguson, J.D.
Director, STOP Obesity Alliance

Professor, School of Public Health and Health Services

Department of Health Policy

The George Washington University

Alliance & Member News
Alliance & Member News

Several Alliance Steering Committee and Associate Members were featured in news stories this month including:

 

STOP at Weight of the Nation Conference


Alliance Director Christine Ferguson will speak at Weight of the Nation, a conference held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. The conference will take place May 7 - 9 in Washington, D.C. Christine will speak during a panel discussion on May 7 entitled, "Weight Bias and Discrimination: Treat Thy Neighbor as Thy Self" along with STOP member Rebecca Puhl, Director of Research and Weight Stigma Initiatives at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. The discussion will be moderated by Nan Feyler, Chief of Staff of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Click here for more information.

 

Alliance Director and TOS Discuss Obesity on BioCentury This Week


Alliance Director Christine Ferguson and The Obesity Society's (TOS) Dr. Richard Atkinson discussed redefining the goals of obesity treatments beyond simply achieving weight loss with BioCentury This Week's Steve Usdin on April 8. Click here to watch the full interview.

 

ACPM Announces New Strategic Plan


The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) announced the release of a new strategic plan and mission statement to guide the College's activities over the next two years. The plan was developed over a six-month period by an ACPM task force under the leadership of ACPM President Miriam Alexander. Click here to view the new plan.

 

OAC and Obesity PPM Team up for Webinar


Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) and Obesity Prevention, Policy and Management (PPM), an educational consulting firm, recently launched a free online educational initiative focusing on the complexities of obesity. The next webinar in the series will take place on May 24 and will cover "Obesity and Healthcare Policy." Click here to register.


CCA Host Population Health Innovations Showcase


The Care Continuum Alliance (CCA) Population Health Innovations Showcase will take place on July 11 in Washington, D.C. Population health management innovators will educate leaders in government about tools, strategies and technologies in the areas of wellness, prevention and care management. Click here for more information.


WIG Announces Second Annual Healthcare Reform Task Force


Women in Government (WIG) will convene women state legislators from across the country to discuss state-level healthcare reform implementation, including essential benefits packages, health IT, Medicaid reform, chronic disease prevention, high-risk pools, health insurance exchanges and more. The meeting will take place June 16 - 17 in Memphis, Tenn. Click here for more information.


NBGH Holding 9th Annual Leadership Summit on Workforce Well-being

 

The National Business Group on Health's (NBGH) Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being will hold its 9th Annual Leadership Summit on Workforce Well-being June 27 - 28 in Washington, D.C. The Summit will highlight innovative programs and strategies employers are using to motivate and measure employee engagement in health and wellness programs. Click here for more information. 

News Round-Up
News Round-Up
April 30, 2012
Los Angeles Times via Associated Press
 
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine tested several ways to manage blood sugar in teens recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and found that nearly half of the teens failed to control their blood sugar within a few years, and that one in five suffered serious complications. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and is the largest to look at how to treat diabetes in teens.  

Troubled Homes May Fuel Obesity in Girls

April 16, 2012
HealthDay
By Jenifer Goodwin


Girls from troubled homes are more likely to be obese at age five than girls from happier homes, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Study researchers asked mothers about six stressors: domestic violence, depression, drug abuse, housing insecurity, food insecurity and whether the child's father was in prison. Girls whose mothers reported experiencing two or more stressors when their daughter was age one were twice as likely to be obese at age five.

 

April 8, 2012

Los Angeles Times

By Amina Khan

 

Pregnant women who were obese, had diabetes or hypertension were almost twice as likely as healthy women to have children with autism spectrum disorders, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. These women were also more than twice as likely to have children with developmental delays.

 

April 6, 2012

The Huffington Post

 

A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine revealed obesity adds more to health care costs than smoking. Compared to normal-weight nonsmokers, smokers spent on average an additional $1,275 in health costs annually, whereas people with obesity averaged $1,850 in excess health costs. Morbidly obese people spent on average more than $5,500 than their normal-weight counterparts.

 

April 3, 2012

The Wall Street Journal

By Melinda Beck

 

The 2012 County Health Rankings report aims to help local leaders and residents compare their county's smoking and obesity rates, physical inactivity and air pollution levels, and prevalence of fast-food restaurants with those of other counties across the nation. The interactive report ranks all 3,005 counties in the U.S. and was developed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 

April 2, 2012

American Medical News

By Carolyne Krupa

 

Findings from a survey of 1,000 primary care physicians presented at the American Heart Association's 2012 Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Scientific Sessions meeting revealed that those who exercised at least once a week or didn't smoke were about twice as likely to recommend lifestyle changes to patients with hypertension such as eating a healthier diet, reducing salt intake, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and exercising regularly.

 

The content on these web pages is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not designed to replace medical advice or professional medical services. The information should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your physician. Medical decisions should be made in consultation with your qualified health care provider. There may be variations in treatment that your health provider may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
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 STOP Obesity Alliance. All Rights Reserved.