Posts Tagged ‘advocacy’

What Has Changed in 20 Years of Obesity Patient Advocacy?

February 9, 2025 — April this year will mark 20 years of patient advocacy in obesity by the Obesity Action Coalition. We’ve spent this weekend with the OAC board, looking back and looking forward at advocacy to educate, elevate, and support the voices of people living with obesity. So this is a good time to ask what has changed […]

Forget Cake – Let Them Eat Whole Foods

February 1, 2025 — The sincerity and passion of Dariush Mozaffarian is easy to recognize and admire. His deep belief in the opportunity for good food to make us healthier is familiar. It echoes the impassioned pitch of a politician before Senate hearings this week. Too many Americans have too many “diet-related” diseases. Time’s a wastin’! Let them all […]

Lend Your Support to CMS for Better Access to Obesity Medicines

January 9, 2025 — The docket is open for you to lend your support until January 27. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to open up access to obesity medicines in both of the programs they oversee. This is something that we – with virtually every advocate for obesity care – have been seeking for […]

Translating an Explosion of Weight Stigma Research into Action

October 26, 2024 — Yesterday at Concordia University, we wrapped up two days of an international weight bias summit aimed at setting priorities for translating an explosion of weight stigma research into action for ending weight stigma. Observations of Progress Rebecca Puhl spoke in a webinar with more than 250 people from all over the world. She reflected on […]

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words in Weight Bias

October 24, 2024 — This week, we are in Montreal for the International Weight Bias Summit at Concordia University. A host of organizations committed to better strategies, policies, and care for people living with obesity are supporting this effort. Leading into the summit is the launch this week of a new and improved bias-free obesity image gallery at HLTH […]

More Equity and Less Diet Talk at FNCE This Year

October 6, 2024 — Change is in the air at this year’s FNCE – the annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This is the world’s largest meeting of food and nutrition experts, registered dietitians, and nutritionists. But this year, we are seeing a subtle shift in the agenda at FNCE: less […]

Moving from IF to HOW on Investing in Obesity Care

September 27, 2024 — After a day of a National Obesity Policy Forum at the Top of the Hill in Washington, it was plain that we have witnessed a profound shift in the conversation about policy to address obesity. No more lip service about nudging America to “eat healthy” as the answer to a high prevalence of this disease. […]

Does Ultra-Processed Food Cause People to Lose Their Minds?

July 16, 2024 — Looking for some naturally fast food? Minimally processed, but exquisitely prepared? Delicious, but not hyper-palatable? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would like to help. According to Stat News, the agency is looking hard for ways to regulate ultra-processed food. It leaves us wondering if ultra-processed food can cause people to lose their minds. It […]

Momentum! TROA Passed in House Ways and Means

June 28, 2024 — With a bipartisan a vote of 36-4 yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed an amended version of TROA – the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act. Honestly, after a decade of toiling away to educate legislators about the need for this, we need a pinch to assure ourselves it’s real. This is great  news […]

Getting Serious About Obesity Care in Medicare

June 27, 2024 — Today for the first time ever, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee will be marking up the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act on Capitol Hill. This is a big deal simply because it means that finally, after a decade of advocacy efforts, Congress is getting serious about obesity care in Medicare. Technically, what the […]