Stronger measures urged against obesity
Published 9:00 pm Monday, December 1, 2003
WASHINGTON — To help stem the epidemic of obesity in the United States, a government advisory group on Monday urged for the first time that doctors weigh and measure all adults and recommend intensive counseling and behavior treatment for those found to be obese.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said that standard obesity treatment should go far beyond casual advice to shed a few pounds.
Instead, the group recommended that doctors prescribe intensive behavior therapy at least twice a month in either individual or group sessions led by a team of health professionals such as psychologists, registered dietitians and exercise instructors. Treatment should continue for at least three months, the task force advised.
The task force stopped short of recommending the same intensive treatment for those who are overweight but not obese.
The new guidelines represent a major shift in how the health care system addresses obesity, said James Hill, director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. "It’s a big deal," Hill said.
While not officially binding, the task force’s recommendations generally become the standard of care for medical practice in the United States.
Nutrition experts praised the new recommendations, published in this week’s Annals of Internal Medicine, saying the guidelines may prompt health plans and insurers to pay for obesity treatment — not now standard practice.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 44 million Americans — about 21 percent of adults — are obese, meaning they are approximately 30 or more pounds above a healthy weight for their height.
These added pounds place them at significantly increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, some types of cancer and arthritis. An estimated 300,000 deaths a year are directly attributed to problems of overweight and obesity, according to the American Obesity Association, a Washington-based advocacy group that supports obesity research and insurance coverage for obesity treatment.
