The AOA has been founded to combat a condition that affects more than a third of all adults and one in five children. The effects of the disease, in terms of death, disability and morbidity are devastating, as eloquently detailed by Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. Despite the enormous toll taken by obesity, however, the disease does not receive the attention it deserves from government, the health care profession or the insurance industry.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of researchers, we know much about the disease already. We know that it has a familial component and that it takes about 15 years for the insidious effects on your health to appear. We have also learned that even small weight losses (as little as 10 percent of body weight) can dramatically improve health if maintained over time. Exciting discoveries are being made regularly. When Dr. Harold Varmus, Director of the National Institutes of Health, testified before Congress in March, 1996, and gave an example of exciting research funded by his agency, he talked about obesity!

Yet much remains to be done in terms of expanding our understanding and improving treatment. It will require determination and a sustained investment of resources. Unfortunately, research is severely limited by a shortage of funds. The National Institutes of Health, for example, annually spends less than one percent of its budget on obesity research—about $1.00 for each sufferer!

Insurance coverage for obesity drugs and other forms of treatment is woefully inadequate. Most persons who seek medical care for the condition receive little reimbursement or none at all. Obesity sufferers also are commonly targets of discrimination and insult. In the minds of many, obese persons are sinners or the proper butt of jokes. The very name of the condition is distasteful, and sufferers are reluctant to associate themselves with it.

In short, obesity has languished in the shadows, an ignored step-child of the healing arts and a stigmatizing condition. Because physicians, government and insurers have neglected their responsibility, obesity is a disease that is too often treated by a visit to the health food store rather than to community programs or clinics and hospitals.

Remedying this shameful neglect and speaking out on behalf of people with obesity is the central mission of the AOA. The association will champion the cause by promoting education, research and community action that can improve the quality of life and self-image of sufferers.

Here are the main points on our agenda:

• Educating the public about obesity and its role in causing illness and unnecessary deaths.
• Helping health professionals to provide the best possible care for people with obesity.
• Encouraging efforts to prevent obesity, especially in children.
• Seeing that insurance companies and third-party payers provide adequate coverage for obesity treatment and prevention.
• Persuading government officials and legislators to fund more obesity research and eliminate laws and policies that negatively affect those with the disease.
• Ending social, economic and legal discrimination against those who suffer from obesity.
• Supporting research by universities and individual scientists through our fund-raising affiliate, the American Obesity Association Research Foundation.

In 1995, we began a collaboration—with our sister organization, Shape Up, America!—to formulate guidelines for treatment of adult obesity. They will help physicians and their patients determine the best treatment in each case. These guidelines were issued in October, 1995. We also intend to create a network of local chapters to further our grassroots work once the membership is of sufficient size. Through the AOA Research Foundation, we will challenge scientists to produce new knowledge, and we will support research with funds raised from a variety of sources.

The web site you are viewing is another way in which we will advance the cause. Obesity.org is an important source of information and education for members. It will keep you abreast of scientific advances, legislative and governmental developments, lifestyle features and legal and insurance issues. We hope you will e-mail us soon and often. Let us know if you encounter problems specific to obese people that deserve attention.

Above all, we urge you, your friends and your family to join us. Become part of a movement dedicated to curing obesity and enhancing the lives of millions of persons.