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Greetings!,
March 20 marked the official start of spring - a date I look forward to every year with hopes of shedding my winter coat, watching the trees bloom and catching up on the items that always seem to get lost in the busy, cold months of winter.
In the spirit of catching up, I thought I would update you on a few things from STOP Obesity Alliance and the larger weight and health landscape.
Weigh In Guide - now available in Spanish. The popular and well-reviewed guide, " Weigh In - Talking with your children about weight and health," is now available online in Spanish! One of our Associate Members, Manuela McDonough of the National Council of La Raza, remarked about the new guide, "In order for us all to work together to address the issue of childhood obesity, guides like Weigh In and others must be available in Spanish and other languages. This will allow us to broaden our outreach to more diverse parents and caregivers that are interested in being able to talk to their kids about weight and health." The guide, developed in partnership between STOP Obesity Alliance and Alliance for a Healthier Generation helps parents respond to challenging and unanticipated questions about weight from their kids. With the Spanish-language edition, even more parents can benefit from the free guide that The Washington Post said "keeps the temperature low and promotes compassion and a spirit of cooperation; there's no pity, condescension, criticism, guilt or anger here."
Weight and the States - research of note. Our obesity research team at GW continues to monitor obesity and weight-related health issues that are tracking at the state level. And it looks like others are tracking STOP's work as well. Just this month, an article in the Wisconsin State Journal on changes in state employee health plans quoted a finding from research we posted in one of our State Bulletins. The article, which reported on a monthly health insurance surcharge for state employees who smoke, cited research STOP had undertaken identifying states that imposed similar fees for state workers who have obesity. STOP is in planning stages for its 2013 State Bulletins. Have a state-related topic you'd be interested in having us cover? Email us at obesity@gwu.edu. National Employee Wellness Month - almost time to sign up. National Employee Wellness Month is gearing up for its fifth year this June and STOP Obesity Alliance continues to be a proud - and original - sponsor. Early next month, we will begin outreach to our members and other "Friends of STOP" to ask them to consider joining the growing movement that showcases how the workplace can play an important role in improving employee health and productivity, lower health care costs and create a healthy workplace culture. "Let's Move!" Celebrates 3rd Anniversary - three cheers. It was great to see First Lady Michelle Obama out on the road celebrating the third anniversary of her comprehensive and exciting "Let's Move!" program. Our STOP Obesity Alliance team is a strong supporter of the "Let's Move!" initiative and its work to promote healthy changes being made in schools, towns and businesses across America. Not long ago, STOP Obesity Alliance members added an important core policy recommendation focused on physical activity. STOP encourages interventions and creating environments that support physical activity, independent of weight or weight loss, resulting in a healthier population. You can check out all of our policy recommendations here. I look forward to working with you on each of these important topics. Happy Spring! Best, |
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Alliance & Member News
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Several Alliance Steering Committee and Associate Members were featured in news stories this month including:
- STOP Obesity Alliance in Wisconsin State Journal, "Health Sense: Plan to Charge State Workers Who Smoke Isn't Unique."
- Alliance Director Scott Kahan, MD, MPH on WebMD News via HealthDay, "Cash Rewards, Fines May Spur People to Shed Pounds."
- American College of Sports Medicine and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in USA TODAY, "Family Loses 72 Pounds and Slashes Food Budget in Half."
- American Diabetes Association in Forbes, "The Confusion Over A Pair of Diabetes Drugs And Pancreatitis."
- Bill Dietz, MD, PhD in Reuters, "Despite Obesity Rise, U.S. Calories Trending Downward."
- The Endocrine Society in MedPage Today, "Disparities in Diabetes Risk Often Overlooked."
- Rebecca Puhl, PhD in MedicalXpress.com, "Overweight Physicians Are Also Vulnerable to Weight Bias" and in Yale Daily News, "Mainstream Media Stereotypes Obesity."
AHA Releases Community Guide to Heart Health
American Heart Association (AHA) released new recommendations to help policymakers and providers combat heart disease and stroke on a local level. The guide focuses on changing behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating habits. The AHA recommends that communities assess the levels of major preventable cause of cardiovascular disease and stroke in the community. Click here to view the community guide.
ASBP Holds Spring Obesity Conference
NHMA Hosts Conference Discussing Effective Health Care for Hispanics
National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) will host its annual conference, "Strategies to Develop Patient-Centered Medical Homes, Curriculum and Research to Improve the Health of Hispanics," April 25-28 in Washington, D.C. The conference will introduce health providers and government and private sector partners to new strategies for effective health care delivery and policies for Hispanic populations, with a focus on disease areas like diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Click here for more details about the event.
DiabetesSisters Hosts Weekend for Women Conference
DiabetesSisters' Weekend for Women Conference will be held May 3-5 in Raleigh, N.C. The theme of this year's conference is "Health, Wellness, & Transformation." During the weekend, participants will attend a variety of educational sessions on topics such as diabetes technology, diabetes management and the importance of physical activity. For more information about the event, click here.
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News Round-Up
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March 18, 2013
WorldatWork.org
According to a Harvard School of Public Health study, public support is higher for interventions that help people make more healthful choices, such as menu labeling requirements, than for interventions that penalize certain choices or health conditions, such as charging higher insurance premiums for obese individuals. Study researchers found a high level of support, ranging between 70 to 90 percent, for government action in areas like preventing cancer, heart disease, obesity, tobacco use and helping people control their diabetes.
March 14, 2013
The Wall Street Journal via The Associated Press
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack discussed the importance for America's youth to have healthy eating habits, calling it an issue of national security. Vilsack highlighted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's initiatives that promote healthy eating, arguing the key to improving eating habits is to improve access to and information about healthy foods.
March 8, 2013
BBC News
By Dr. Pallavi Bradshaw
Dr. Bradshaw calls for more guidance for health care professionals when it comes to talking to parents about childhood obesity. He notes that doctors and parents struggle with this subject because parents often feel they are being accused of poor parenting. The article noted that there has been a lack of education on the subject in healthcare undergraduate and postgraduate training, especially when it comes to communication skills for dealing with interactions with children or those from difference cultures.
March 4, 2013
NPR
By Shankar Vedantam
A poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health revealed that only one in five kids had a parent who feared the child would grow up to be overweight as an adult. In other words, parents of 80 percent of American children think their child will end up being among the 31 percent of adults who are not overweight.
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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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Copyright � 2013 STOP Obesity Alliance. All Rights Reserved.
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