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With National Obesity Care Week (NOCW) just around the corner, September 15th – 21st, the OAC is looking forward to participating in this important awareness week.
As a proud Founding Champion of the campaign, we want to see it achieve its mission: to change the way we care about obesity. We are excited that the 2019 NOCW campaign will focus on raising awareness of the need to remove significant barriers to obesity care.
The Issue: Access to Obesity Care
Today, more than 93 million adult Americans are living with obesity. Many do not know that obesity is a disease and that their healthcare provider can help them with weight-loss and maintenance. Others do not have insurance coverage to help them pay for these options.
- Only 3, 377 or 0.38% of active U.S. physicians are certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
- 44 million Medicare recipients could benefit from screening and treatment of obesity.
- Healthcare costs for individuals affected by obesity are 42% higher.
Now, more than ever, people affected by obesity or those who care, as well as healthcare providers and policy makers, must pledge their support for access to obesity care without barriers.
Working Together during NOCW
Alongside other founding partners – the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), The Obesity Medicine Association (OMA), The Obesity Society (TOS), and Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance (STOP) – the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) believes that everyone should have access to care that is not limited by a person’s size, weight or economic status.
Please join us in supporting NOCW and help us show how access to obesity care affects our Community Members. From patients and their loved ones to employers, healthcare providers and policy makers, we all play an important role in improving access to obesity care.