OAC Board and Staff

Agents of Change in Obesity

Some of the most remarkable agents of change in obesity gathered in San Antonio this past weekend to celebrate progress and set the coming year’s goals for the work of the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC).

2014 was a year when OAC set new records for participation in its annual conference for people affected by obesity — YWM2014. We made important progress toward removing barriers for people seeking evidence-based treatment — most notably, the federal Office of Personnel Management issued guidance barring health plans for federal employees from arbitrarily excluding obesity treatment.

OAC consistently and repeatedly spoke out against weight-based discrimination and fat shaming that remains all too common. Editorials in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune were two of many examples.

And yet it’s still true that way too many strategies and policies for addressing obesity fail to account for the needs of the people they will affect.

In the coming year — which will be OAC’s 10th anniversary — you can expect that OAC will be confronting discrimination and bias with unprecedented intensity. We will not rest until people with obesity have the same unfettered access to treatment that people with other diseases take for granted. We will expose discrimination in healthcare, education, and everyday life for what it is — hateful bigotry. And we will deliver the best conference ever at YWM2015 in San Antonio for advocates and people affected by obesity.

OAC is working to bring about big changes that will fulfill its mission to elevate and empower the people affected by obesity though education, advocacy, and support. ConscienHealth is proud to be a Chairman’s Council member of the OAC, giving our time and money in support. We encourage you to lend your support, too.

Click here for more information on YWM2015 and here to join and support the OAC.

OAC Board and Staff, photograph by Chris Gallagher

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