September 2015 Issue
IN THIS ISSUE
Alliance & Member News
News Round-Up



     
We often talk about community-based efforts to prevent and reduce obesity, but we may not realize that these initiatives aimed at the broader public actually have origins within a clinical setting. The Affordable Care Act placed a heavier emphasis on public health and prevention efforts throughout the entire health care system, strengthening the role that hospitals play in community health promotion. Part of the law requires nonprofit hospitals to undertake regular Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs), along with requirements to develop and implement community benefit strategies that address these identified needs. When many hospitals identified obesity as a significant health issue in their communities, STOP released a series of recommendations to guide hospitals in the development of community-based obesity programs.

Hospital-led programs targeting obesity can cast a wide net on the neighborhoods that they serve, but hospitals can also promote health by establishing workplace environments and policies that support the health of their workforce, patients, and communities. Surprisingly, creating a culture of health can be a challenging undertaking, even for an institution as health-conscious as a hospital or health system. A 2006 study of children's hospitals found that fast food restaurants are fairly common in these hospitals. If these hospitals had a McDonald's restaurant onsite, visitors were four times as likely to have purchased McDonald's food on the day of the survey. Visitors of these hospitals also were more likely to rate McDonald's food as healthy.

Fast food establishments are widespread and are certainly not the only cause of the obesity epidemic. But if the presence of such restaurants in hospitals creates a false perception of their healthfulness, surely their placement ought to be questioned. Cleveland Clinic made headlines this summer after finally removing the McDonald's restaurant from its cafeteria, becoming the seventh hospital to cut ties with the restaurant chain since 2009.

Of course, the problem doesn't lie simply with McDonald's, but rather with the challenge of promoting a culture of health throughout the entire hospital, including the cafeteria. Several health systems have done just that by establishing policy changes similar to those used to ban tobacco from hospital campuses. A few examples of these evidence-based policy changes include:
  • Providing access to healthy foods
  • Providing staff training and education on good nutrition
  • Utilizing pricing strategies to incentivize health options
  • Utilizing marketing strategies to identify healthy options and nutrition information
The Public Health Law Center has compiled a summary of national and regional voluntary pledge programs that focus on improving the food and beverage environments within health care settings, and many hospitals have employed their own strategies for improving healthy eating. For example, Massachusetts General Hospital labeled drinks with red, yellow, or green stickers to indicate caloric content. After two years, consumption of the "green" drinks had increased and "red" drink consumption had declined. In 2011, Nationwide Children's Hospital eliminated sugar-sweetened drinks from its campus entirely.

Whether hospitals make pledges and policy changes at the individual level or affect change more broadly through their community benefit initiatives, there is a real opportunity for hospitals to lead and innovate wellness promotion. As both an employer and a community resource, they have a responsibility to lead by example to create a culture of health for their workforce, patients, and communities.  

   
Thanks,

 
Alliance & Member News
Alliance & Member News
STOP to Participate in National Obesity Care Week 2015: Better Care. Better Health.
STOP Obesity Alliance will participate in the first National Obesity Care Week this November. National Obesity Care Week is a movement to ensure anyone affected by obesity receives respectful and comprehensive care. Today, 35 percent of the adult population is affected by obesity, and severe obesity continues to rise. Now, more than ever, health care professionals, policymakers, industry and patient communities must examine their personal perspectives and biases related to obesity and take action to treat obesity as the serious and complex disease it is. Tune in on October 11, World Obesity Day, for more information and to learn how to pledge your support.
 
IOM to Host Workshop on Early Childhood Obesity
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Obesity Solutions will host "Obesity in the Early Childhood Years: State of the Science and Implementation of Promising Solutions" on Oct. 6. The workshop's speakers and panelists will focus on overweight and obesity in the earliest years of life, identify promising points of intervention, and highlight innovative, cross-sector solutions for prevention and treatment of obesity among young children. Register here for the live event or tune in to the webcast.

ASBP to Host Overcoming Obesity 2015
American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) will host Overcoming Obesity 2015 from Sept. 30-Oct. 4. In addition to the Fall Obesity Summit, the organization is offering an obesity medicine certification review course for those physicians preparing for the December American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) certification exam. Click here for conference details and to register online.
 
Record Number of Physicians Seek ABOM Certification
American Board of Obesity Medicine reports that 542 physicians applied to take the 2015 certification exam that recognizes doctors for their expertise in treating obesity and overweight. The total number of applications represents a 27 percent increase from 2014. The 2015 candidates represent more than a dozen medical specialties including internal medicine, family medicine, endocrinology, pediatric, and OBGYN.
News Round-Up
News Round-Up
NPR
By Jane Greenhalgh

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new maps showing obesity prevalence by race. The data highlight disparities in obesity rates among ethnicities, showing that the obesity epidemic affects African Americans the most, followed by Hispanics and then white Americans.

September 18, 2015
The American Journal of Managed Care
By Ted Kyle and Fatima Cody Stanford

An article penned by Ted Kyle and Fatima Cody Stanford discusses the impact of lack of access to care for obesity. The article notes that evidence-based options to address obesity are growing and guidelines are evolving, but notes a need for improved coverage for obesity pharmacotherapy in order to address the medical costs of obesity.  
 
September 18, 2015
The Hill
By Tommy G. Thompson
 
Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 and governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2001, calls for personal and policy solutions to address obesity. He argues that individuals should take more personal responsibility by eating less, eating healthier and exercising more. On the policy front, he calls for increased access to therapies for Medicare beneficiaries.  

September 16, 2015
CBS News via the Associated Press
 
A report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that approximately one-third of children and adolescents in the United States eat fast food daily. The report highlights that young children get about nine percent of their daily calories from fast food.
 
September 2, 2015
Money
By Katy Osborn

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of knee replacements for Americans over the age of 45 has nearly doubled since 2000, and the average age of a knee replacement patient has fallen from 69 to 66 during that time frame. Experts offer two explanations for this rise: increased obesity prevalence and longer life expectancy. Extra weight on the knees worsens osteoarthritis, the condition that knee replacements alleviate.

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