Happy 2014! At the STOP Obesity Alliance, we anticipate another exciting and productive year moving the needle forward on preventing and treating obesity and improving health.

Recently, a handful of obesity experts participated in a discussion in which they predicted that 2014 will bring more efforts to disseminate effective treatments and an increased understanding of obesity as a disease, including its impact on the body.

This month, the first step of a new Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Obesity Solutions took place. I'm proud to be part of this multi-stakeholder, multi-year endeavor that will develop an action plan to implement obesity prevention and treatment strategies.

The first meeting featured presentations on the status of the current epidemiology of obesity as well as its effect in a variety of settings, such as schools, worksites, health care, communities and states, federal government, and business and industry. It established a benchmark that will help identify gaps and develop solutions to address them and advance efforts to tackle the issue of obesity. I was energized to hear about the work underway and am hopeful that this IOM endeavor will focus the collective wisdom of the individuals working to address obesity and develop a path forward. I look forward to keeping you apprised of our work. To learn more, click here.

At STOP, we plan to continue our work across several different fronts, including helping to better equip and educate providers as they address obesity with their patients; facilitating productive family conversations about weight and health through our Weigh In materials; and providing our latest insights on how Affordable Care Act implementation is affecting obesity prevention and interventions in the states.

To that end, we recently released state-by-state charts depicting 2013 Medicaid Fee-for-Service treatment of obesity interventions in the United States. These charts, available on the STOP website here, accompany STOP's most recent Weight and the States bulletin, which also provides a detailed look at state-by-state Medicaid coverage of obesity treatments, particularly coverage of bariatric surgery and obesity medications.

What do you think will be the major trends and areas of focus for 2014 in obesity? Visit STOP's Twitter and Facebook pages to share your thoughts, or email me at obesity@gwu.edu. And as always, stay tuned for our next e-Newsletter to learn more about STOP's efforts to overcome and reduce obesity.

Best, 

Scientists ID New Genes Linked to Belly Fat 

January 23, 2014

HealthDay

A study published in Human Molecular Genetics states that the identification of five new genes linked to belly fat could help efforts to develop medicines to treat obesity and obesity-related diseases. Study researchers found three new genes associated with increased waist-to-hip ratio in both women and men and two other genes that appear to affect waist-to-hip ratio in women only.

'Obesity Paradox' A Myth For People With Diabetes

January 16, 2014

Fox News

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that examined the premise that carrying extra weight may be healthier for those with diabetes, in fact, found the opposite. Study researchers found that the lowest risk of sickness and death from diabetes was in normal-weight patients.

Obesity May Shorten Lives by Almost 4 Years: Study 

January 16, 2014

HealthDay

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health reports that American adults with obesity die an average of almost four years earlier than those of normal weight, noting that middle-aged adults with obesity face the highest risk of early death. Study researchers found that obesity was associated with at least a 20 percent increased risk of death from all causes or from heart disease.

January 8, 2014

HealthDay

By Kathleen Doheny

A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that despite U.S. health experts' recommendation that children engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes daily, only one in four actually does so. Study researchers found that 27 percent of boys and 22.5 percent of girls in the study met the 60 minutes a day recommendation.