The Time Is Here! ObesityWeek Plus a Side of Elections

The Time Is Here! ObesityWeek Plus a Side of Elections

This should be quite a week. Of course, we’re talking about ObesityWeek. Yeah, there’s also some sort of election going on. But we’ve hardly noticed. The real action is online with an all new format for an interactive meeting about everything that’s happening on the subject of obesity and health. Here are a few tips to help you navigate this new format.

Log In and Frame Your Week

This has been a year of learning all about virtual meetings. Everyone has a different approach. ObesityWeek is no exception. They’re calling it ObesityWeek Interactive because the platform (at obesityweek.showcare.io) is designed to promote chats, informal sessions, and lots of virtual networking.

At first glance it seems promising. There are two channels for live sessions and big events. Then there are oral sessions available on-demand. We’re presenting one of those – you can find the scoop here. Finally, the poster sessions offer quite a lot of content that you can spend the whole week browsing.

So make sure you’re registered, log in with your email address, and set up your profile. It’s the cornerstone for networking with your peers this week. The next step is to frame your week on the schedule of live sessions. And remember, with two channels, you will still be able to watch a rerun of your second choice later.

Find the Abstracts That Matter to You

The abstracts are easier to browse than ever. They’re up now for you to search or browse by author here, on the ObesityWeek.org website. Note that this is outside of the event (Showcare) platform, where you log into the interactive content. No doubt, when the meeting starts tomorrow, you will be able to browse the abstracts inside the platform, too. But for now, you can get a sneak peek and plan your week.

Don’t Miss

Here are a few things to be sure to see. First of all, don’t miss the Presidential Plenary at 10:30 (Eastern U.S.). A parade of brilliant speakers will frame ten themes that will start your thinking for the week. You’ll even see a brief appearance by ConscienHealth’s Ted Kyle. You can be sure that this session will be thought provoking.

On that first day (Monday), there are also fantastic sessions on patient perspectives (2:30) and the connections between COVID and obesity (4:30). Not to be missed.

Tuesday is full of great content. Two sessions we will be sure to catch cover advocacy (11:00) and trending dietary patterns (6:30).

On Wednesday, Julie Lumeng will be lecturing at 2:30 on the role of psychosocial stress in children – a perspective that we often lose. Then we have two sessions on weight regain (4:30) and maintenance (6:30) that deserve your attention.

Whatever you do on Thursday, don’t miss the Obesity Journal Symposium at 2:30. It offers a collection of some of the top papers in the field. Symposia on bariatric surgery in adolescents (4:30) and on telemedicine (6:30) are also worth catching.

But we’re not done yet. Friday ends the week with three sessions not to miss: balancing risk and benefit in adolescents (2:30), obesity care in primary care settings (also 2:30), and dietary guideline controversies (4:30).

Seriously, this is just a sampling. If like us, you are tired of hearing about the elections, ObesityWeek will offer a welcome distraction. Besides, whenever they figure out who won, someone will surely let us know.

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November 1, 2020