Standing together in support of improved access to obesity care

We’ve recently joined organizations across the United States to show our support in taking much-needed steps to enhance obesity prevention and care. The Obesity Society along with five other obesity care organizations developed a consensus statement to recognize obesity as a chronic medical condition and present a unified effort to improve care for patients living with the disease.

The organizations who developed the statement include: the Obesity Action Coalition, the Obesity Medicine Association, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the Stop Obesity Alliance, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

We have proudly signed the statement in support of these efforts and to showcase our commitment to addressing roadblocks to care as well as helping reduce weight stigma and bias surrounding this complex medical condition. The consensus statement reads:

Obesity is a highly prevalent chronic disease characterized by excessive fat accumulation or distribution that presents a risk to health and requires life-long care. Virtually every system in the body is affected by obesity. Major chronic diseases associated with obesity include diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The body mass index (weight in kilograms/height in meters 2) (BMI) is used to screen for obesity but it does not displace clinical judgment. BMI is not a measure of body fat. Social determinants, race, ethnicity and age may modify the risk associated with a given BMI.

Bias and stigmatization directed at people with obesity contributes to poor health and impairs treatment. Every person with obesity should have access to evidence-based treatment.

Read the press release to learn more about the collaboration. We’re looking forward to working with our partners to help change how we talk about and treat obesity to transform lives for generations.

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