health
Prevention campaign offers doctors tools to fight obesity
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 20, 2013
The Obesity Society is helping physicians diagnose and manage weight issues with its new Treat Obesity Seriously campaign, which it launched May 9.
As part of the effort, doctors can request free tools that help assess body mass index and educate patients about the serious health implications of being overweight and obese. The educational materials can be ordered on the campaign’s website (link).
Those materials include a BMI prescription pad on which physicians can record and share information with patients about BMI and waist circumference. Each slip of paper explains what BMI is, how to calculate it and why it’s important.
Doctors also can request a bilingual paper BMI wheel calculator that allows for quick determination by matching height and weight, and an informational poster about obesity that can be placed in the office. Another goal of the campaign is to persuade policymakers to improve the public’s access to obesity-related medical care and treatment. Such treatment could include weight-loss counseling and new prescription drugs for chronic weight management.
This campaign comes at a time when the nation’s obesity epidemic has ballooned to epic proportions, with more than a third of adults and 17% of children ages 2 to 19 considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.