WASHINGTON — Curbing the obesity epidemic in America requires community intervention, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the CDC's Weight of the Nation conference.
“The only way on a societal basis to reduce the prevalence of obesity is through community action, not through individual clinical interventions,” Dr. Frieden said in a press conference.
“We got to this stage in the [obesity] epidemic because of a change in our environment,” he said. “Only a change in our environment again will allow us to get back to a healthier place.”
To help communities respond to the obesity epidemic, the CDC launched Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention. As part of this project, the CDC convened a panel of experts in a variety of areas including nutrition, urban planning, and physical activity, as well as obesity prevention (MMWR 2009:58 [RR-7]:1-26).
“We can't wait for the best possible evidence, we have to act on the best available evidence,” said Dr. William Dietz, director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Dr. Dietz presented the CDC's recommendations at a press conference.
The panel agreed on 24 strategies, which fall into six categories:
▸ To promote the availability of affordable healthy foods and beverages (example: adding grocery stores in underserved areas).
▸ To support healthy food and beverage choices (example: limiting ads for unhealthy food and beverages).
▸ To encourage breast-feeding (example: encouraging workplaces to support breastfeeding moms).
▸ To encourage physical activity or limit sedentary activity in children and adolescents (example: requiring physical education in schools).
▸ To create safe communities that support physical activity (example: enhancing infrastructure to support walking and biking).
▸ To encourage communities to organize for change (example: participating in coalitions and partnerships to address obesity).
The panel chose strategies that are likely to have a broad reach and a long-term, meaningful impact on health, according to the full report. And the panel deemed the strategies reasonable for a community to implement.
“I think there is a responsibility to physicians and the medical profession generally to be active in their communities promoting prevention,” said Dr. Frieden. It is often physicians who encourage community actions and influence policy makers, he emphasized.
It is often physicians who encourage community actions and influence policy makers.
Source DR. FRIEDEN