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Obesity Care Week 2021
STOP Resources                 
             
Educators       Providers         Parents
February
2021


Greetings,

Recognizing that obesity is a complex, chronic disease affecting more than 2 billion people globally, the STOP Obesity Alliance is a founding partner of the 7th annual Obesity Care Week (OCW), which takes place this year from February 28th – March 6th, 2021.
 
More than ever, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of treating chronic diseases such as obesity. The growing prevalence of obesity and severe obesity worldwide makes the global population more susceptible to high mortality from infectious disease pandemics. Because the COVID-19 pandemic has put those with obesity at high risk of severe illness, we need to ensure that accessible and effective obesity treatment is available to all who need it. It is also essential that COVID-19 vaccines be accessible to those with obesity. Despite speculation to the contrary, clinical experience has shown that the COVID-19 vaccine is just as effective for people with obesity as it is for people at a healthy weight.
 
Originally founded in 2015, Obesity Care Week has a global vision for a society that understands, respects and accepts the complexities of obesity and values obesity research and care. The STOP Obesity Alliance, with our other founding partners – the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA), and The Obesity Society (TOS) – believe that together, we can make this a better world for people living with obesity.



Each day of OCW highlights an issue impacting people with obesity. The first theme of the week highlights weight bias, which is a common but harmful form of discrimination that many people with obesity face. Next, attention will turn to obesity prevention and treatment, which can save lives and improve health for those with and without obesity. However, treatment is not equally accessible to everyone, which emphasizes  the importance of access to care.

World Obesity Day, on March 4th, is celebrated during OCW. The mission of World Obesity Day is to increase awareness of obesity, encourage advocacy, improve policies affecting obesity, and provide a platform for people around the world to share their experiences. STOP supports this global effort that aims to change the way we care about obesity.


The final days of the week are devoted to childhood obesity and “I Care Day.” Pediatric obesity deserves its own focus, because of the effects that obesity has on children and adolescents. “I Care Day” is an opportunity for advocates, policymakers, health care professionals, those with obesity, and their friends and families to share why they care about obesity and how they are working together to make a difference.

To address and educate others about important obesity topics like these, the STOP Obesity Alliance has developed fifteen fact sheets on a diverse range of subjects. We hope you will share them on social media or on your websites to help educate others. Feel free to print and share them in provider’s offices and wellness centers.
 
We encourage you to sign-up for OCW2021 alerts and stay up-to-date with the latest news and information on how to help change the world for people living with obesity during Obesity Care Week. We’re grateful for the 25 STOP Obesity Alliance members who are OCW champions this year.
 

 Thanks, 
       

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Upcoming Events

Feb 28- Mar 6: Obesity Care Week 2021
Mar 4: World Obesity Day
Mar 17: COPE March Webinar
Apr 7: COPE April Webinar
Apr 21-25: Obesity Medicine 2021
May 10-13: Canadian Obesity Summit
Jul 17-25: OAC's YWM Convention
Announcements

OCAN OCW Briefing
My Weight Couldn't Wait Blog Post
Stop Weight Bias Campaign
Reclaim Your Wellness Campaign
Obesity Journal Symposium
AHIP: Medicaid and Social Determinants
 
We Support Obesity Care Week 2021!
Obesity Care Week 2021 (OCW2021) is here and STOP Obesity Alliance is happy to be an OCW2021 Champion and support this important awareness week.

OCW2021 has a global vision for a society that understands, respects and accepts the complexities of obesity and values science and clinically-based care. This awareness week, has different focus days with the goal to raise awareness and bring the topic of obesity forefront. This year, Obesity Care Week will take place from February 28th – March 6th and will highlight:
  • February 28th: Launch Day
  • March 1st: Weight Bias Day
  • March 2nd: Obesity Treatment Day
  • March 3rd: Access to Care Day
  • March 4th: World Obesity Day
  • March 5th: Childhood Obesity Day
  • March 6th: “I Care” Day
We hope that you can join us in supporting this annual awareness week that aims to change the way we care about obesity. If you are interested in learning more on how you can get involved, sign-up for OCW Alerts or visit ObesityCareWeek.org.
Obesity Care Week Congressional Briefing: “Obesity Care, COVID-19 and Communities of Color”
On Friday, March 5 at 12 PM Eastern, as a part of Obesity Care Week 2021, please join the Obesity Care Advocacy Network for a briefing on the importance of the obesity continuum of care, including the need for access to evidence-based obesity treatments and preventative interventions. The briefing will discuss how these approaches can address the ties between obesity and COVID-19, and the disproportionate impact on communities of color.
 
Featuring a discussion with: 
  • Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, FAAP, FACP, FAHA, FTOS – Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Dr. Donna H. Ryan, MD – Past President, World Obesity Federation
  • Dr. Bill Dietz, MD, PhD – Chair, Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness and Director, STOP Obesity Alliance at The George Washington University
Moderated by:
  • Patty Nece, JD – Board Chair, Obesity Action Coalition and patient advocate
RSVP for the briefing here.
World Obesity Day is March 4th 
World Obesity Day's theme this year is ‘every body needs everybody’ and it is exciting to see how our members and supporters are adapting the core messages for their own campaigns. You can find out more about the events and activities planned around the world on the stories page of the World Obesity Day website.

To get involved, consider sharing your personal or professional obesity story on the interactive map. You can find also resources on the World Obesity Day website including editable posters, social media assets and information resources that you can download, share and tailor for your own needs. To let the world know about your World Obesity Day events, share what you have planned – from online webinars and debates, to publications and awareness-raising activities. All appropriate events will be featured on www.worldobesityday.org.
Blog Post: My Weight Couldn't Wait
In an OAC blog post, Christine Gallagher, Research Project Director of the STOP Obesity Alliance, makes it clear that weight can't wait.

With 42% of American adults now living with obesity, the ability of health care professionals to prevent and manage this disease is more important than ever. However, research has found that providers face significant obstacles to obesity counseling, including discomfort with opening the conversation, lack of time, insufficient training, limited reimbursement, and inadequate availability of effective treatments.

When weight counseling is appropriate, health care professionals need a short, accessible, practical, informative guide for obesity treatment. Recognizing this need, the STOP Obesity Alliance created a new guide for the management of obesity in primary care: Weight Can’t Wait.

Read the full blog post here.
It’s Time to Stop Weight Bias! #BePartoftheSolution
Our words and actions matter. Weight shouldn’t dictate the way people are treated. That is why, the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) created an awareness campaign that explains why we need to #StopWeightBias. The Stop Weight Bias Campaign is committed to raising awareness, putting a stop to weight bias and pushing equality forward.

STOP Obesity Alliance is proud to support this important awareness campaign as a Champion. We recognize that weight bias is a serious issue and we want to do our part to #StopWeightBias. Together, we can build a better world, free of weight bias, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. 

Are you ready to Be Part of the Solution?

There are different ways in which you can support the Stop Weight Bias Campaign: For more information, visit: StopWeightBias.com
Reclaim Your Wellness Campaign
Black Women’s Health Imperative and HealthyWomen launched the Reclaim Your Wellness campaign to raise awareness of obesity as a national health crisis in a manner that is free of stigma, judgment, and bias. The multifaceted campaign will focus on making obesity a healthcare priority, while improving the lives of people with obesity; changing how the world sees, prevents and treats obesity as a disease; and ensuring people living with obesity have access to science-based, comprehensive care. Both partners will deliver tailored educational and lifestyle content and resources, along with interactive tools, podcasts and stories from real women on the physical and emotional impacts of obesity.

A webinar series will convene renowned experts to elevate the conversation around underlying causes of obesity and treatments, while educating and empowering women across diverse communities. 

Learn more here.

CALL FOR PAPERS: 9th Annual Obesity Journal Symposium


Highlighting Leading Papers at ObesityWeek® 2021

If you have a high-quality manuscript ready for submission, the editorial team of Obesity wants to hear from you. Your manuscript could be part of the 9th annual Obesity Journal Symposium to be presented at ObesityWeek® 2021.

The editors will select at least four papers to be presented at the Symposium during the annual meeting of The Obesity Society at ObesityWeek® 2021, November 1-5, 2021.

Submissions are now open and all papers must be received by June 1, 2021.

Learn more here.
AHIP Publishes Social Determinants of Health and Medicaid Brief
As the federal-state program providing access to essential health care to over 77 million low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities, Medicaid has a unique opportunity to address the social risk factors that disproportionately impact these vulnerable populations. Caused by the socioeconomic conditions in which we live, learn, work, and play, these socioeconomic barriers or “social determinants of health” include inadequate access to nutritious food, lack of affordable housing, lack of convenient and efficient transportation options, limited opportunities for quality education and meaningful employment, limited broadband access, and more.

Learn more here.
Foundations of Pediatric Obesity - Virtual Course
On Saturday, March 13, 2021, OMA is partnering with the American Academy of Pediatrics: Colorado Chapter and the Children’s Hospital Colorado to offer a half-day virtual course (4 CME/CE) to improve clinicians’ abilities to effectively manage chronic disease in pediatric populations. The Foundations of Pediatric Obesity course will include education on the pathophysiology of obesity, genetic testing for obesity syndromes, and more. Register today!
Upcoming COPE Webinars
March 17   

The Relationship between Female Fertility and Bariatric Surgery and Nutritional Considerations
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that up to 15% of couples experience infertility, defined as the inability to achieve a successful pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected intercourse or after 6 months in women over the age of 35 years. Several factors, including weight status at time of conception, can impact a woman’s fertility and women with obesity attempting pregnancy can experience a two-fold delay in pregnancy compared with women of normal weight. 

Complete details and registration available here

April 7 

Leveraging the New Economics of Nutrition for Improved Patient Care and Public Health  
Over time, the economics of nutrition has shifted away from focusing on ensuring the supply of sufficient calories towards a holistic and richer understanding of macronutrients, micronutrients, and non-nutritive aspects of food impacting nutritional well-being and disease. This webinar will explore how nutrition economists use fundamental principles of economics in conjunction with new kinds of data and tools to develop deeper understandings of the social determinants of nutritional status, as well as test hypotheses about the effectiveness of nutrition interventions at the population level that may guide public policy and clinical guidelines.

Complete details and registration available here
Obesity Medicine 2021 Virtual Conference
Earn up to 30 CME/CE during the Obesity Medicine 2021 Virtual Conference on April 21-25 and get up-to-date education on advanced obesity treatment techniques and trends. You'll also learn practical and evidence-based guidelines for pharmacological management of obesity and related diseases, devise treatment plans for bariatric surgery complications, and more! Register Today!
Canadian Obesity Summit moves to online format May 10-13, 2021
If you’re a healthcare professional, researcher, policy maker or student working in obesity and want to learn, share and network with an international lineup of experts, look no further than the 7th Canadian Obesity Summit. The Summit is a biennial conference that brings together professional obesity stakeholders for a collegial, engaging learning experience. This year, it’s an interactive online experience, with a few twists. 
  • Sessions will be interactive, with a mix of live and on-demand recorded presentations, live Q&A, networking capabilities and offline access to all content for three months post-Summit for paid delegates.
  • Obesity Canada (OC) and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) will offer our virtual flagship scientific conferences simultaneously May 10-13, 2021. Delegates will be able to save on joint registration for both events, with access to recorded sessions. To kickstart the Canadian Obesity Summit there will be a joint session co-hosted by OC and EASO on weight bias & stigma. Information on ECO 2021 can be found here.
  • The Canadian Obesity Student Meeting – run by and for students and new professionals – will run concurrently with the Summit.
Key dates:
  • Abstract deadline: February 18, 2021 at 2:00pm PST
  • Notification of abstract decision: March 2, 2021
  • Registration open: January 11, 2021
  • Early bird registration close: March 12, 2021 at 11:59pm PST
Click here to view the preliminary program.
The OAC’s Your Weight Matters Convention & EXPO is Going Virtual!
Your Weight Matters Convention & EXPO strives to always deliver a unique and immersive experience, bringing the most sought-after weight and health experts from around the world to present the best science-based information to help you navigate your journey with weight and health. Given the continued concern around the impact of COVID-19, along with the uncertainties surrounding travel-related activities and with your health and well-being in mind, we have made the prudent decision to once again go virtual for our 2021 National Convention. While we will miss hosting an in-person meeting for a second year, we are very excited to announce that YWM2021 is going virtual and to once again have the opportunity to bring our highly regarded Convention to more individuals through a virtual platform.

We will host this year’s meeting – YWM2021- VIRTUAL – July 17 – July 25

Our schedule will include live event programming activities on both weekends, with special events taking place throughout the week and you will have the opportunity to join us from the comfort of your house and immerse yourself in a unique virtual experience packed with the BEST science-based education presented by industry experts!
Copyright © 2021 STOP Obesity Alliance, All rights reserved.


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