RECOMMENDATIONS FROM an ASCO “Summit on Addressing Obesity Through Multidisciplinary Collaboration” have been published in a new article in the journal Obesity. The recommendations cover four key areas in response to the current issues providers face in addressing obesity prevention and treatment and their impact on morbidity and mortality in the United States.
In 2016, ASCO convened 18 organizations across a wide spectrum of medical specialties to take a full view of obesity’s impact on health. These organizations—the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; the American Academy of Family Physicians; the American Academy of Pediatrics; the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists; the American Cancer Society; the American College of Cardiology; the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology; the American College of Physicians; the American College of Sports Medicine; the American College of Surgeons; the American Gastroenterological Association; the American Heart Association; the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery; the American Society of Preventive Oncology; the Endocrine Society; the National Lipid Association; the Obesity Medicine Association; and the Obesity Society—share a commitment to improving health outcomes by considering obesity as a comorbidity in their specific disease areas and, in some cases, providing obesity treatment. The article outlines the current needs, recommendations for collaboration, and best practice examples generated from the Summit to collectively move forward to address obesity.
The increasing rates of obesity have important implications for patients, health-care providers, and public health in the United States. Obesity increases the risk of many noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and many cancers. In addition, obesity increases the rates of mortality for those with these diseases.
The article outlines recommendations developed by Summit stakeholders in four key areas: provider education and training, public education and activation, research, and policy and advocacy.
In 2013, ASCO began efforts to raise awareness about the relationship between obesity and cancer by creating educational tools, fostering research in this area, and advocating for evidence-based weight management resources for survivors. With a goal of improving public health, the Society is committed to informing oncology providers, patients with cancer, and the general public of the existing data linking obesity, inactivity, and poor diet to worse outcomes in patients with cancer.
Read the complete recommendations at http:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21987/full. ■
© 2017. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
