Searching for Young People to Inspire Healthy Living!
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a non-profit organization founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, is searching for young people excited to share their commitment to healthy living and inspire their friends, families, schools and communities to take action and help stop childhood obesity.
STOP Obesity Alliance April E-Newsletter
Dear Reader,
Every day, parents and other caregivers are confronted with myriad questions and situations that not only are challenging and unanticipated, but for which they are unprepared.
Click here to read more.
A Legislative Low-Down on Obesity and the States
Webinar Examined State Trends & Upcoming Issues on Obesity & Related Chronic Diseases
The STOP Obesity Alliance hosted a webinar on Tuesday, December 6, in which experts discussed state legislative activities related to obesity and weight-related chronic disease that could signal broader trends in the future. Click here to view the webinar.
America’s Health Insurance Plans
Since 2003, America’s Health Insurance Plans’ (AHIP) Obesity Initiative has supported member health insurance plans’ obesity prevention and treatment efforts. AHIP’s ongoing series of forums, programs, grants, educational audio conferences, and roundtables brings health plans and other stakeholders together to discuss the challenges of obesity, review the evidence, develop effective strategies, and share models that work.
For the past several years, the topics of overweight and obesity, as well as prevention and wellness initiatives related to healthy lifestyles and behavior change, have been ongoing focus areas and play an integral role in the curriculum of AHIP’s annual conferences and educational programs, including the Medical Leadership Forum, National Policy Forum, and AHIP’s Institute.
In fall 2008, AHIP released Facing the Challenge of Unhealthy Weight: Recommendations for the Health Care Community, a white paper that offers several recommendations and examines promising programs that health insurance plans and clinicians have developed in collaboration with community partners to encourage body mass index (BMI) screening and address the obesity epidemic. The recommendations are based on the work of the AHIP Expert Panel on Obesity and Related Screening Measures to Improve Health and meetings sponsored by the AHIP Obesity Initiative. Recommendations include making routine BMI screening and interpretation a standard clinical practice; connecting BMI screening to evidence-based prevention and treatment options; and building partnerships and disseminating promising practices among health plans, physicians and clinicians, employers and community groups.
Also released in fall 2008, the AHIP Innovations in Prevention, Wellness and Risk Reduction monograph highlights innovative initiatives that capture health insurance plans’ commitment to programs that prevent disease and improve the lives of their members and their communities by helping them stay well. As illustrated in the 40 profiles featured in the monograph, health plans of all sizes and in every part of the nation are working with other stakeholders to create healthier workplaces, schools, and communities; help individuals and families make better choices about diet and physical activity; and overcome economic, social and cultural barriers to the adoption of preventive practices and healthier lifestyles. Accompanying these profiles are insightful essays by five noted experts who explore the reasons why the related challenges of prevention, wellness and risk reduction for chronic disease require both innovative and comprehensive responses.
AHIP has also developed an obesity Web site containing the latest news and resources on the science and strategies surrounding obesity prevention and treatment.
Click here for more information on America’s Health Insurance Plans.