Obesity in the News

• Federal Panel Urges Obesity Screening for Kids Ages 6 and up

• Breast-feeding Rates Tied to White Women's Body Mass Index

• Parents Cut Kids' Calories When Menus are Labeled

• Obesity Report Warns of High Health Costs

• Five Questions You Should Ask Your Doctor about Losing Weight

News from the OAC

OAC Calls on Insurers and Employers to Increase Access to Childhood Obesity Treatments based on Recent U.S. Preventative Task Force Recommendations

On January 18, 2010, the OAC issued a national news release calling on all insurers and employers to increase access to childhood obesity treatments based on U.S. Preventative Task Force (USPTF) recommendations.

The OAC believes the USPTF recommendations demonstrate the need for addressing childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is more than skin deep. Children affected by excess weight are often the targets and victims of weight stigma. It is extremely important that the youth of America not experience a diminished quality of life due to obesity or weight stigma. Unfortunately, the treatment of obesity in both adults and children is excluded from most health insurance providers.

To view the OAC's news release distributed throughout the United States, please click here.>>>

Already Taken the Your Weight Matters Challenge and Want to do More? The OAC Needs YOUR Help in Promoting the Camapaign!

Taking the Campaign challenge is the first step in getting control of your weight, health and wellness. But, there are still ways you can give back and help the campaign reach the millions of Americans who still need to hear its message.

Many Americans do not even realize they are affected by excess weight, that’s why it is crucial that the message of the Your Weight Matters Campaign is spread all across the country.

That’s why we need YOUR help in promoting the Campaign and we’ve made it easy for you to get involved and spread the word. We’ve created a “Promote the Campaign” section (click here) located on the Campaign Web site that has all the promotional tools you will need to help, including:

• Official Your Weight Matters Poster

• Your Weight Matters Postcards

• Campaign News Releases

• Newsletter Stories

• Public Service Announcements

• Web site Banner Ads

• Facebook and Twitter Links

• and much more!

There are a variety of ways YOU can help the OAC get the message out to your friends, family members, co-workers and others. Hang up a poster on your company's bulletin board, give a Campaign postcard to a friend, follow us on Facebook or Twitter and much more!

Visit the Official Your Weight Matters Web site to learn more today by clicking here.>>>

Game App Offered by Apple App Store Stigmatizes those Affected by Obesity - Voice YOUR Concerns Today!

The OAC has recently been alerted by one of its members that the Apple App Store, accessible by popular electronic devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch, is featuring a game app, titled "Fat-a-pult," developed by Pinger, Inc.

The purpose of the game is to launch a normal weight individual off of a platform with the use of a morbidly obese character. The launched character then moves through the sky consuming food until he either grows larger in size or vomits; therefore, reducing his size and returning him to the ground.

The OAC feels that this game is extremely offensive to those who are overweight, obese and morbidly obese and perpetuates the negative stigma associated with excess weight.

The OAC has issued a letter to Apple requesting the immediate removal of the game from the App Store. We are encouraging all of you to contact Apple and Pinger, Inc. and voice YOUR concerns. Below, please find their mailing and email address:

Apple
Steve Jobs
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014

To contact the developer, Pinger, Inc., please email feedback@pinger.com.

We need YOU to respond to this offensive game and take just a few minutes to write to these companies. As Obesity Action Alert subscribers and members of the OAC, we greatly appreciate your dedication to eliminating the negative stigma associated with obesity.

*As of the delivery of this e-newsletter, the game has not been removed from the Apple App Store.

OAC Offers Wide Variety of FREE Educational Materials

In an ongoing effort to educate the public on obesity, childhood obesity, morbid obesity and weight-stigma, the OAC produces a wide variety of educational resources detailing these topics and much more.

The most popular of the OAC's resources is the Understanding Obesity series. This series includes the following:

• Understanding Obesity brochure

• Understanding Obesity poster

• Understanding Morbid Obesity brochure

• Understanding Childhood Obesity brochure

• Understanding Childhood Obesity poster

• Understanding Obesity Stigma brochure

• Understanding Your Weight-loss Options brochure (online only)

In addition to the above resources, the OAC also offers an insurance guide for those seeking weight-loss surgery.

To learn more about the OAC's resources or to order materials today, please click here.>>>

OAC Welcomes its Newest Chairman’s Council Members and Thanks those for Renewing their Support

The OAC Chairman’s Council is the highest membership level of the OAC. We would like to thank our two newest Chairman’s Council Members – Barbara Thompson and Bariatric Solutions.

Many of you may recognize the name Barbara Thompson and that is because she is the OAC’s newly appointed Chairman. Barbara joined the Chairman’s Council this past month and has been an active supporter of the OAC since its formation in 2005. Bariatric Solutions (Greenville, SC) is the newest participant in the OAC Sponsored Membership Program, in turn making them eligible for membership in the OAC Chairman’s Council. Bariatric Solutions has committed to purchasing memberships for each of their patients and is a great supporter of the OAC.

Also important to OAC membership are those that renew their commitment. The OAC would like to thank New Dimensions Weight Loss Surgery and The Wellborn Clinic for renewing their support at the highest level. Both programs are proud participants in the OAC Sponsored Membership Program and have been great advocates for the OAC throughout the past four years. Each have helped bring more than 200 new individuals as members to the OAC.

To see your organization profiled like the ones above and for more information on Chairman’s Council Membership, please click here. For more information on the OAC Sponsored Membership Program and how it works, please click here. You are also welcome to contact Kristy Kuna, OAC Director of Membership at (800) 717-3117 or kkuna@obesityaction.org.