Action Plan on Obesity Urges Equitable Policies,
Increased Funding and Education

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 1999 —The American Obesity Association (AOA) today concluded its first-ever obesity conference here by releasing an Action Plan that urges the federal government to pay increased attention to obesity, the second leading cause of preventable death in the U. S.

"More than 97 million Americans are now overweight or obese," said AOA President Richard L. Atkinson, M.D. "The Action Plan will work to deter the alarmingly increasing rate of obesity, which now contributes to more than 300,000 deaths annually, and a risk factor or aggravating agent for approximately 30 diseases and conditions," he said.

Within the next 12 months, AOA is committed to the following actions to promote an adequate response by the U.S. Government to the obesity epidemic:

• The Administration should establish a Cabinet level Working Group to (a) assess the impact of federal policies within the United States and globally on the increases in the prevalence of obesity by agricultural, transportation, energy, tax, telecommunications and computing policies and (b) expand and coordinate federal efforts for research and treatment of obesity.
• Congress should enact S. 1159 introduced by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AL) to provide $30 to $100 million to local schools over the next four years to initiate and expand physical education programs in grades kindergarten through 12.
• The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services should develop and implement guidelines for the screening of school children for diabetes and hypertension brought on by obesity.
• The budget of the National Institutes of Health on obesity should be expanded fivefold, consistent with its importance as a research priority and scientific opportunities.
• The Internal Revenue Service should allow taxpayers to deduct the costs of obesity treatments as they can now do for smoking cessation.
• The Health Care Financing Administration should treat obesity as it does all other conditions under Medicare and Medicaid.
• The Social Security Administration should withdraw its recent regulation removing obesity from its listing of conditions for the purpose of determining eligibility for disability.

The two-day conference, Obesity: The Public Health Crisis, presented the latest information on the causes, preventative measures and treatment of obesity. Some 300 conference attendees heard debate on issues such as the prevalence of obesity among women, minorities and children; the role of the government and the private sectors; insurance coverage; and the funding for obesity research and prevention programs.