Advocacy

Obesity Society Holds Policy Forums in Conjunction With National Conventions

In August and September 2008, The Obesity Society held forums at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In Denver, at the Democratic Forum, invited guests and an expert panel, including, Morgan Downey, James Hill, Robert Eckel and Caroline Apovian, along with moderator Sally Squires, addressed how a Democratic administration would address the issue of obesity and the historic inclusion of obesity in the Democratic platform. The forum featured the director of policy for the Obama Campaign, Melody Barnes, and the author of the Democratic Platform, Karen Kornbluh.

In Minneapolis/St. Paul, with Lesley Stahl as moderator, and invited guests, including, former Presidential candidates, Governors Tommy Thompson and Mike Huckabee, and New Hampshire State Senator Bob Clegg, and experts, including TOS past presidents Michael Jensen, Charlie Billington, and Allen Levine, Caroline Apovian and Eric Finkelstein, the Forum discussed the strategies that Republicans have advocated at the state and national levels to combat the crisis of obesity

Melody Barnes

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Lesley Stahl

Rep. John Conyers

The Obesity Challenge: What Should the Next President Do?

In September 2007, The Obesity Society and the George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services hosted a conference at the Jack Morton Auditorium, George Washington University to discuss the challenge that obesity brings to the country and posed the question, What Should the Next President Do?

The conference looked at the budgetary and health implications of the nation’s rising obesity problem from the perspective of the major presidential candidates as well as health policy experts. The Obesity Society, the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and the National Journal sponsored this event, which brought together the advisors to the major presidential candidates, who are experts in their own rights, to address the issues and trends we are seeing.

View full coverage, videos and transcripts of the event, on the Kaiser Family Foundations KaiserNetwork.org at:

• http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=2353

"Should the next president serve eight years, to 2017, he or she will almost certainly see increasing rates of obesity and its associated health care problems. in fact, an article we are publishing this month forecasts that, if current trends continue, the prevalence of obesity will be 40% for men and 45% of women in 2015. We have now reached an alarming situation in which babies born today will probably live shorter lives than their parents."

- Eric Ravussin, President, The Obesity Society 2008

Ongoing Commitment to Advocacy

The Obesity Society is committed to advancing policy changes that address the current epidemic of obesity. Our advocacy program has three leading objectives:

• To assist in the development of programs designed to prevent obesity;
• To ensure patients have access to quality medical care for obesity treatment;
• To increase funding of obesity research.