AMA Letter of Support to Rep. Kind

ASMBS Clinical Position Statements

OMA Obesity Algorithm

OCAN appreciates the volume of work that the Bipartisan Policy Commission (BPC) has done to elevate greater public, policymaker and healthcare professional awareness regarding obesity issues such as the commission’s collaborative efforts in developing the initial “Provider Competencies for the Prevention and Management of Obesity” and the “My Healthy Weight Pledge.”

Comments: BPC Rural Health Task Force

<h3>&quot;Economics of Obesity: Implications for Productivity and Competitiveness&quot;</h3>
OCAN Blankets Capitol Hill — Meets with over 150 Congressional Offices to support TROA and NOCW
On February 27, 2017, the obesity community joined together for the first Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) Advocacy Day of 2017 — with 120 attendees visiting more than 150 congressional offices. During their visits, OCAN members educated legislators and congressional staff about both the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) and a congressional resolution that would designate the week of October 29 – November 4, 2017 as National Obesity Care Week (NOCW).
Sandwiched in between morning and afternoon Hill visits, attendees paused to join legislative staff for a special congressional lunch briefing sponsored by OCAN and Novo Nordisk, inc. regarding the “Economics of Obesity and its Implications for Productivity and Competitiveness.” The briefing, which featured economists, patient advocates and the former Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, highlighted how obesity and excess weight is an expanding health problem for more than 60 percent of Americans, and how a new study by Hugh Waters and Ross DeVol finds that it’s a tremendous drain on the U.S. economy as well. The authors of the study discussed how the total cost to treat health conditions related to obesity—ranging from diabetes to Alzheimer’s—plus obesity’s drag on attendance and productivity at work exceeds $1.4 trillion annually.
The day ended with a reception hosted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Political Action Committee (ANDPAC) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery’s Political Action Committee (ObesityPAC), which featured Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) – one of the Senate sponsors of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act and the Senate National Obesity Care Week resolution. Over 50 OCAN members attended the ANDPAC sponsored reception, including representatives from The Obesity Society, the Obesity Medicine Association and the Obesity Action Coalition.
Briefing Documents:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://3nhzjd3ataf312jp1b2h92e0-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/OCAN-TROA-Info-Sheet.pdf">OCAN TROA Informational Sheet (PDF)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://3nhzjd3ataf312jp1b2h92e0-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NOCW-Info-Sheet.pdf">NOCW Informational Sheet (PDF)</a></li>
<li>Milken Institute: The Health and Economic Impact of Obesity (PDF, download below)</li>
</ul>

Briefing: "Economics of Obesity: Implications for Productivity and Competitiveness"

The prevalence of obesity, measured by body mass index, has risen to unacceptable levels in both men and women in the United States and worldwide with resultant hazardous health implications. Genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors influence the development of obesity, and both the general public and health professionals stigmatize those who suffer from the disease. Obesity is associated with and contributes to a shortened life span, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, kidney disease, obstructive sleep apnea, gout, osteoarthritis, and hepatobiliary disease, among others. Weight loss reduces all of these diseases in a dose-related manner—the more weight lost, the better the outcome. The phenotype of “medically healthy obesity” appears to be a transient state that progresses over time to an unhealthy phenotype, especially in children and adolescents. Weight loss is best achieved by reducing energy intake and increasing energy expenditure. Programs that are effective for weight loss include peer-reviewed and approved lifestyle modification programs, diets, commercial weight-loss programs, exercise programs, medications, and surgery. Over-the-counter herbal preparations that some patients use to treat obesity have limited, if any, data documenting their efficacy or safety, and there are few regulatory requirements. Weight regain is expected in all patients, especially when treatment is discontinued. When making treatment decisions, clinicians should consider body fat distribution and individual health risks in addition to body mass index.
To read the source of this article, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2017-00253">click here</a>.

Science of Obesity Management (2018)

On September 26 and 27, leaders from the Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) will join with over 400 employees of Novo Nordisk, Inc, for a two-day advocacy blitz of Capitol Hill to urge Congress to pass S. 830/H.R. 1953- the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA). The legislation, which has the bipartisan support of over 100 House and Senate co-sponsors, aims to effectively treat and reduce obesity in older Americans by enhancing Medicare beneficiaries’ access to healthcare providers that are best suited to provide intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) and by allowing Medicare Part D to cover FDA-approved obesity drugs.
The upcoming September advocacy days will build on more than 250 OCAN congressional visits this year to grow support for TROA, which continues to be championed by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) and Representatives Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Ron Kind (D-WI). This time around, advocates will be armed with a new analysis that highlights how passage of TROA could save the Medicare program between $19-21 billion during the next 10 years.

OCAN to Join Others on Capitol Hill

Pediatric Obesity—Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention

AMA Letter of Support to Sen. Cassidy

West Virginia Obesity Fact Sheet 

Discipline and the Obesity That No One Wants to See

The Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments related to the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) Request for Information (RFI) on
Severe and Disabling Chronic Conditions and Enrollment in Medicare Advantage Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs).
We are hopeful that CMS will take this opportunity to recognize obesity as a chronic and complex disease to encourage broader Medicare beneficiary access to the full range of science-based treatment avenues across all possible Medicare programs.

Comments: CMS Severe and Disabling Chronic Conditions Information Request

OCAN comments regarding the USPSTF draft recommendation and evidence review regarding “Weight Loss to Prevent Obesity-Related Morbidity and Mortality in Adults: Behavioral Interventions,” where OCAN urges the USPSTF to amend its formal recommendation statement to:
<blockquote>
The USPSTF recommends that clinicians offer or refer adults with obesity for evidence-based treatments including: intensive multi-component behavioral interventions, obesity pharmacotherapy, and surgery.
</blockquote>

Comments: USPSTF Behavioral Interventions for Weight Loss Recommendation

The Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) applauds the Healthcare Quality Expert Committee for including a new class for anti-obesity agents and addressing OCAN’s concerns raised in its December 5, 2016 comment letter regarding the proposed USP Drug Classification system (USP-DC).

OCAN Applauds USP for New Anti-Obesity Medication Class

OCAN’s Take:
45 state essential health benefit (EHB) benchmark plans for 2017 exclude coverage for “weight loss programs” based on the Summary of Benefits and Coverage documents listed on the CMS’s Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). Given that the term “weight loss program” is so vague and confusing, we believe that this terminology is hindering patient access to mandatory and needed obesity therapy.

Issue Brief: Department of Labor Weight Management FAQ 

The Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) is pleased to provide the following comments regarding the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) draft research plan on behavioral and pharmacotherapy interventions for weight loss to prevent obesity-related morbidity and mortality in adults, which USPSTF released for review and public comment on December 10, 2015.
We appreciate the Task Force’s continued interest in the impact of excess weight on obesity-related morbidity and mortality. That being said, we believe that the USPSTF should shift the direction of its research approach toward obesity care and follow a chronic disease management paradigm instead of an exclusive focus on weight loss.

Comments: USPSTF Obesity Interventions Draft Research Plan

The Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care Working Group is considering requiring a study to determine the use and impact of obesity drugs in the Medicare and non-Medicare populations. The study could: specifically detail the utilization of such drugs and any subsequent impact on medical services that are directly related to obesity, including by subpopulations determined by the extent of obesity; examine medical interventions for individuals not taking obesity drugs; and examine the experience of MA-PDs that cover obesity drugs as a supplemental benefit.

Comments: Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care Paper

OCAN comments regarding CMS Draft Quality Measure Development Plan to support new merit based incentive and alternative payment systems

Comments: CMS Draft Quality Measure Development Plan

OCAN comments in response to the proposed regulations entitled &quot;Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA); HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2018&quot; (81 FR 61455, September 6, 2016). Our comments will focus on the disparate coverage of obesity screening and referral for multicomponent behavioral interventions compared to other preventive health care services that have received an A or B evidence rating recommendation from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

Comments: Proposed ACA Regulations for HHS Benefits

Hawaii Obesity Fact Sheet

The Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) applauds the Healthcare Quality Expert Committee for including a new class for obesity agents in the newly proposed USP Drug Classification system (USP DC) for 2017. OCAN leaders appreciated the opportunity to discuss the proposed USP-DC during our 1:1 meeting with USP staff on November 21st. As we highlighted during that session, OCAN fully supports USP efforts to establish a new class for obesity agents and we urge the expert committee to include all FDA-approved drugs under the “Example Drugs” section of the USP-DC.

OCAN Applauds HQEC USP Classification of Obesity Agents

Study: Weight Shaming Falls as Medical View of Obesity Grows

Health Plans Often Stand in the Way of Obesity Care

Comprehensive Clinical Practice Guidelines for Medical Care of Patients with Obesity

The AACE Obesity Resource Center is a compendium of educational tools to educate AACE members and other health care professionals about the rapidly evolving landscape of obesity science and pharmacotherapy and complications-centric strategies that will result in improved long-term maintenance of weight loss in patients with obesity. The content is divided into three sections, each containing detailed, downloadable slide decks:
<ul>
<li>What is the disease of obesity?</li>
<li>Why do we treat obesity?</li>
<li>How do we treat obesity?</li>
</ul>
The <a href="http://obesity.aace.com/">Obesity Resource Center</a> joins the successful, highly accessed <a href="http://resources.aace.com/">Diabetes Resource Center</a>, originally launched in 2013. This site is continually updated with new therapy information, downloadable slide decks, and current news items.

AACE Announces the Launch of the Obesity Resource Center

WASHINGTON, DC – Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) Chair Joe Nadglowski, president and CEO of the Obesity Action Coalition, today released a statement in support of the bipartisan re-introduction of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) in both the House (<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1577">H.R. 1577</a>) and the Senate (<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/596">S. 596</a>) by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Tom Reed (R-NY), Raul Ruiz (D-CA) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH).
<blockquote>
OCAN and its network of obesity advocates applauds the re-introduction of TROA in both the House and Senate by a bi-partisan group of legislators and urges Congress to pass this important legislation as soon as possible.
Obesity, a complex disease impacting more than 40% of Americans—27 million of whom are over age 60—requires a comprehensive approach to both prevention and treatment. A major barrier is lack of coverage for the most effective treatment options, from behavioral therapy to pharmacological interventions.
As we have seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people with obesity are at higher risk of more severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization, and death. This risk is particularly disproportionate in communities of color, where higher rates of serious disease and death due to COVID-19 are made significantly worse by higher rates of obesity.
The rate of obesity among Medicare beneficiaries doubled from 1987 to 2002 and nearly doubled again by 2016. TROA extends Medicare coverage to include intensive behavioral therapy for obesity by providers outside of primary care and allows coverage under Medicare’s prescription drug benefit of FDA-approved drugs for obesity treatment or chronic weight management for individuals who are affected by excess weight or obesity.
It is critical that Congress pass this important legislation that will improve obesity prevention and treatment outcomes—now and into the future.”
</blockquote>
About OCAN
The Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) is a diverse group of organizations that have come together with the purpose of changing how we perceive and approach the problem of obesity in this nation. The mission of the coalition is to unite and align key obesity stakeholders and the larger obesity community around key obesity-related education, policy and legislative efforts in order to elevate obesity on the national agenda. For more information, visit obesitycareadvocacynetwork.com

Statement: Re-introduction of TROA

MedTech Coalition Sends TROA Letters of Support to Congress

Study: The Impact of Medicare Coverage for Anti-Obesity Interventions

Adult Weight Management Guidelines

TOS Obesity Management Guidelines

Alabama Obesity Fact Sheet

As all of us continue to implement effective response plans to address the impact of COVID-19, it has become increasingly evident that obesity, and its numerous related comorbidities, is the second greatest risk factor, after older age, for hospitalization among COVID-19 patients. Despite the prevalence and severity of obesity in the United States, many public and private health plans, including Medicare, do not adequately cover evidence-based obesity treatment options. Incorporation of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (H.R. 1530/S. 595) into the next COVID-19 relief package could make a significant difference in the survival rate for millions of Americans.

Letter: Incorporate TROA into COVID-19 Relief Package

Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) - House Resolution

Current regulations do not permit coverage for drugs that treat obesity under Part D, on the grounds that such drugs are excluded under the Medicare statute as agents “used for anorexia, weight loss, or weight gain.” Here we respectfully request that CMS apply its administrative authority and precedent to interpret the statute in a more permissive manner for anti-obesity medications.

Memo: CMS Authority to Provide Coverage for Obesity Drugs Under Part D

Connecticut Obesity Fact Sheet

Georgia Obesity Fact Sheet

Idaho Obesity Fact Sheet

Delaware Obesity Fact Sheet

Wyoming Obesity Fact Sheet

Colorado Obesity Fact Sheet

Illinois Obesity Fact Sheet

Wisconsin Obesity Fact Sheet

California Obesity Fact Sheet

Florida Obesity Fact Sheet

Arkansas Obesity Fact Sheet

Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) - Senate Bill

Alaska Obesity Fact Sheet

Arizona Obesity Fact Sheet

Louisiana Obesity Fact Sheet

Kentucky Obesity Fact Sheet

Maine Obesity Fact Sheet

Washington, DC Obesity Fact Sheet

Massachusetts Obesity Fact Sheet

Washington Obesity Fact Sheet

Virginia Obesity Fact Sheet

Michigan Obesity Fact Sheet

Vermont Obesity Fact Sheet

Minnesota Obesity Fact Sheet

Utah Obesity Fact Sheet

Mississippi Obesity Fact Sheet

Missouri Obesity Fact Sheet

Montana Obesity Fact Sheet

Texas Obesity Fact Sheet

Nebraska Obesity Fact Sheet

New Hampshire Obesity Fact Sheet

Tennessee Obesity Fact Sheet

Nevada Obesity Fact Sheet

South Dakota Obesity Fact Sheet

South Carolina Obesity Fact Sheet

Rhode Island Obesity Fact Sheet 

New Jersey Obesity Fact Sheet

Oklahoma Obesity Fact Sheet

Pennsylvania Obesity Fact Sheet

Oregon Obesity Fact Sheet

North Carolina Obesity Fact Sheet

A study was conducted to assess the financial impact of Medicare coverage for excluded evidence based obesity care, including lifestyle modification and counseling, as well as FDA-approved medications that treat obesity.

TROA Budget Impact Analysis

Memo from Avalere outlining estimated costs or savings to the federal government associated with the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act.

Scoring Memo: Obesity Drugs in Medicare Part D

<h2>New Research Shows Keeping the Weight Off is a Lot More than Willpower</h2>
Both moderate and dramatic weight loss lower metabolic rate; Less weight loss is still beneficial to health
In a special mini-series in the journal, leading obesity experts weigh in on the two papers through two additional commentaries and an editorial, all of which explain the phenomenon of metabolic adaptation, or the process where weight loss is accompanied by a decline in energy (caloric) expenditure as weight is lost. These studies were conducted on different populations, but reached the same conclusion: weight regain results from complex biological forces. The common accusation that individuals who don’t keep the weight off just lack willpower is incorrect.
“Obesity is a serious disease that cannot be ‘cured’ with weight loss,” says Donna Ryan, MD, FTOS, Associate Editor in Chief of Obesity and spokesperson for The Obesity Society. “Research is showing that once people lose weight and their metabolism slows, they experience an increase in appetite and a decrease in energy expenditure. These studies demonstrate that keeping the weight off long term requires constant vigilance and lifestyle changes to combat the biologic factors that are fighting to regain the weight.”
In the second paper released today, researchers Michael Rosenbaum, MD, and Rudolph L. Leibel, MD, examined 17 individuals with obesity first at their usual weight, again during maintenance of a 10% reduced weight, and a final time during maintenance of a 20% reduced weight. Their goal was to determine whether the reduction in energy expenditure was directly proportional to the amount of weight lost, if it was proportional up to a certain point, or if it was increasingly – or even exponentially – proportional. They found that all three models were effective.
While these authors found that energy expenditure is explained by a combination of the three models, Fothergill et al.’s research on The Biggest Loser contestants seems to fall in line with the proportional model, where the more weight is lost the more the energy expenditure will decrease.
“This study reinforces the complexities of obesity, illustrating that dramatic weight loss, such as that experienced by contestants from The Biggest Loser, may not be the best approach for keeping weight off long term,” continued Dr. Ryan. “Efforts to maintain weight loss should focus on establishing sustainable diet and physical activity routines. While they may not lead to the dramatic weight loss experienced by contestant on The Biggest Loser, they can improve overall health and well-being.”
A position statement on the topic issued today by <a href="https://www.obesity.org/">The Obesity Society</a> and supported by the <a href="http://www.eatright.org/">Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics</a>, the <a href="http://www.obesityaction.org/">Obesity Action Coalition</a> and the <a href="http://obesitymedicine.org/">Obesity Medicine Association</a> reinforces the message:
“Many people are successful at losing weight and sustaining that loss at levels that may be associated with significant health benefits, even if they do not conform to a societal cosmetic ideal… Numerous studies have demonstrated that people with obesity can lose 5 – 10% of their initial weight and many of them successfully maintain this new, lower body weight. In addition, reductions of this size are associated with improvements in hypertension, sleep apnea, mood, physical mobility and the development of Type 2 Diabetes.”
Study author Dr. Rosenbaum notes that only approximately 15% of individuals are able to lose more than 10% of their weight non-surgically and sustain the weight loss. The position statement reinforces this idea that “approximately 70% of individuals are capable of weight-reduction of at least 5%, and more than half of these individuals are able to sustain weight loss of &gt;5% at the 8-year mark.”
“These two studies show that keeping weight off can be extremely difficult and gets even harder as more weight is lost. It’s important to remember that moderate weight loss can be beneficial for health and likely won’t come with such a forceful fight by the body to regain the weight,” says The Obesity Society President Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD, FTOS who led the development of the position statement. A front-page article in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0">The New York Times</a> in May spotlighted a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/">National Institutes of Health study in Obesity</a> that studied 14 former contestants of the reality TV show The Biggest Loser who regained an average of 90 pounds – nearly 70% of what they had lost – six years after the show because of complex factors that affected their metabolism and caused their bodies to regain the weight. Researchers explained that a lowered resting metabolic rate (RMR) was partly to blame. RMR is the rate at which calories are burned at rest, which contributes to total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). This study, which was discussed widely on the Internet following The New York Times story, is now published in the August print edition of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1930739x">Obesity</a>, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society, along with a second, new paper also examining metabolic rates after weight loss.
Read the full mini-series in Obesity and the position statement here:
<ul>
<li>Study: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/">Persistent Metabolic Adaptation 6 Years After “The Biggest Loser” Competition</a>, Fothergill et al.</li>
<li>Commentary: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/oby.21553/">Metabolic Adaptation: Here to Stay</a>, Tremblay</li>
<li>Study: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/oby.21559/">Models of Energy Homeostasis in Response to Maintenance of Reduced Body Weight</a>, Rosenbaum and Leibel</li>
<li>Commentary: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/oby.21556/">Adaptive Thermogenesis – Do We Need New Thinking?</a> Müller</li>
<li>Editorial: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/oby.21586/">Energy Expenditure and Weight Control: Is The Biggest Loser The Best Loser?</a> Ravussin and Ryan</li>
<li>The Obesity Society Position Statement: Correcting Misinterpretation in the Public Dialogue on Weight-Loss Maintenance</li>
</ul>
This article originally appeared on The Obesity Society web site.

Study: Research Shows Keeping Weight Off is More than Willpower

America's Health Rankings: Obesity - Ages 65+

<h3>Doctors Prescribe Diabetes Treatment Medications 15 Times More than Obesity Drugs, study finds</h3>
Clinicians are missing critical opportunity to prevent diabetes with obesity treatments
Obesity is a well-established major risk factor for developing diabetes, with almost 90% of people living with type 2 diabetes having obesity or overweight. Even with the close tie between obesity and type 2 diabetes, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21533/full">new research</a> shows that healthcare clinicians prescribe 15 times more anti-diabetes medications than those for obesity. Although six anti-obesity medications are now approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating obesity when combined with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, this research points out that only 2% of the eligible 46% of the U.S. adult population is receiving these medications. The research is published in the September issue of Obesity, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society.
<img src="https://assets.obesitycareadvocacynetwork.com/Obesity_Diabetes_Treatment_f63d50257d/Obesity_Diabetes_Treatment_f63d50257d.png" alt="Obesity-Diabetes Treatment.png"/>
“Given the close tie between obesity and type 2 diabetes, treating obesity should be an obvious first step for healthcare providers to prevent and treat diabetes,” says Catherine E. Thomas, MS, the lead researcher from Weill Medical College of Cornell University. “By treating obesity, we may be able to decrease the number of patients with type 2 diabetes, among other related diseases and the medications used to treat them.”
Researchers pointed to a number of barriers to obesity treatment including lack of reimbursement for healthcare providers, limited time during office visits, lack of training in counseling, and competing demands, among others.
“A greater urgency in the treatment of obesity – on the part of clinicians and patients – is essential,” continued Thomas. “We’re talking about prolonged and better quality of life for patients.”
To conduct the study, Thomas et al. performed a retrospective analysis of 2012 – 2015 data from the IMS Health National Prescription Audit and Xponent databases to examine prescribing trends for antidiabetes and antiobesity medications. According to the analysis, the number of prescribed antidiabetes medications (excluding insulin) was 15 times the number of prescribed antiobesity medications. Medical specialties prescribing the majority of the antiobesity medications included family medicine/general practitioners, internal medicine clinicians and endocrinologists.
“By comparing the adoption rate of new antiobesity medications to the considerably faster rate for new diabetes medications, this new research provides an important snapshot of the problem,” says Ted Kyle, RPh, MBA, founder of ConscienHealth in a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21566/full">commentary</a> accompanying the research.
“Obesity is a serious disease that is not getting serious treatment,” says Charles Billington, MD, FTOS, past president and spokesperson for The Obesity Society and Director of Medical Weight Management at the University of Minnesota. “We are missing the opportunity among patients with serious obesity-related illness to provide the full range of proven, safe and effective therapies. It’s time to start treating people with obesity as we would others with chronic diseases – with compassion and access to evidence-based care in a clinical setting.”
According to the commentary by Kyle, future research should aim to better quantify the benefit of obesity medications in real clinical settings as measured by patient outcomes. Additionally, a better understanding of the systematic barriers to adoption of obesity pharmacotherapy is necessary.
The <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21533/full">study</a>* and its <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21566/full">accompanying commentary</a> are published in the September issue of Obesity, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society.
*Disclosure: The authors of this research were given access to the prescription databases through a partnership with Vivus, Inc.
[1] The Obesity Society (2016), &quot;Weight and Diabetes&quot;
This article originally appeared on The Obesity Society web site.

Study: Doctors Prescribe Diabetes Medications 15x More Than Obesity Drugs

SBM Position Statement: Expand Access to Telehealth-Delivered Treatment for Bariatric Surgery

New York Obesity Fact Sheet

On behalf of the Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN), we are pleased to provide comments on the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. OCAN appreciates the important work of the Committee that so many organizations use to form the basis of nutrition recommendations.

Comments: 2020 Dietary Guidelines

"Weight Can't Wait" Guide

Obesity Score 3-2 for the Affordable Care Act

New Mexico Obesity Fact Sheet

NCOA: 10 Policy Solutions to Improve Obesity Care for Older Adults

Guide: Obesity in Older Adults: Succeeding in a Complex Clinical Situation

Guide: Understanding Your Obesity Treatment Options

Report: The State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies for a Healthier America

Report: Stress in America 2021: Pandemic Stress One Year On

Report: State of Obesity 2019: U.S. Obesity Rates Reach Historic Highs – Racial, Ethnic, Gender and Geographic Disparities Continue to Persist

COVID-19 Deaths And Severe Illness Were Exacerbated By High Obesity Among Americans

TFAH Briefing: "State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies for a Healthier America"

Geron.org: Obesity and Overweight

Study Shatters Preconceived Notions About Urban Vs. Rural Obesity

U.S. economy will boom into 2023, but inequality must be addressed

OCAN Summer Webinar Series - Webinar #1:
<h3>A Closer Look at the Impact of Obesity Throughout One&#x27;s Lifetime</h3>
<h4><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvq6dFcTLiA">View Live-Stream</a></h4>
On Monday, May 24 at 2:00 PM Eastern, please join the Obesity Care Advocacy Network to learn about how obesity can impact individuals throughout their lifetime, featuring medical experts in pediatric, adult and gerontological obesity.
As the first of a three-part summer webinar series, this event sets the stage for later webinars by exploring what science tells us about this chronic disease, why so many people face barriers attaining proper obesity care and treatment, the disproportionate impact of obesity on communities of color, and the relationship between COVID-19 and obesity. Learn how you can take action on this issue today, and join us for future webinars in the series for a deeper dive on solutions to address obesity.
The event features a discussion with:
<ul>
<li>Heather Hodge, MEd - Senior Director, Community Health, YMCA</li>
<li>Ricardo Correa, MD, EdD, FACP, FACE, FAPCR, FACMQ - Program Director, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship at University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix</li>
<li>Kathryn Starr, PhD - Research Health Scientist, Durham VA Medical Center and Assistant Professor, Duke University School of Medicine</li>
</ul>
Moderated by:
<ul>
<li>
Joseph Nadglowski - President and CEO, Obesity Action Coalition, and OCAN Co-Chair
</li>
</ul>
<h4><a href="https://app.box.com/s/3ni22kays7tbjplb42we5x7ybn6qdiow">Post-Event Resources</a></h4>
<hr/>
Disclaimer:
Opinions expressed by individuals are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) or its members. Information shared should not be interpreted as medical advice or care. OCAN recommends consulting with a healthcare provider to address individual health needs.

Webinar: "A Closer Look at the Impact of Obesity Throughout One's Lifetime"

The bad news—and the good—about obesity and COVID-19

Commentary: A call for solutions for healthy aging through a systems-based, equitable approach to obesity - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

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