ASCO recently held a work group meeting with 18 organizations that focused on addressing obesity through multidisciplinary collaboration. The purpose of the meeting was to review current challenges in addressing obesity within the health-care provider communities and identify potential opportunities where the organizations can come together to address this global problem.
A white paper and recommendation report will be developed, which will guide all participating organizations in moving forward collaboratively to achieve the desired goals. The organizations participating in the work group are:
- Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
- American Academy of Family
Physicians - American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Association of Clinical
Endocrinologists - American Cancer Society
- American College of Cardiology
- American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Sports Medicine
- American College of Surgeons
- American Gastroenterological
Association - American Heart Association
- American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
- American Society of Preventive
Oncology - Endocrine Society
- Obesity Medicine Association
- National Lipid Association
- The Obesity Society
Obesity is a risk factor for a variety of chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, and arthritis—as well as certain cancers. However, public awareness of the relationship between obesity and cancer is limited—a 2013 survey1 showed only 7% of Americans were aware of the link between obesity and increased cancer risk.
ASCO is fully committed to addressing this issue and sees the convening of this work group as the next phase of a public campaign. The work group identified opportunities in four areas—research; public education and activation; provider education and training; and policy and advocacy—for addressing obesity through multidisciplinary collaboration. ■
Reference
1. Neergard L, Agiesta J: Poll: Few Americans Know All the Risks of Obesity. Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research; January 7, 2013. Available at http://www.apnorc.org/news-media/Pages/News+Media/poll-few-americans-know-all-the-risks-of-obesity.aspx.
© 2016. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
