• Government
• Profession
• Business
• Opinion
• Health

• Health reform
• H1N1
• P4P
• EMRs
• Medicare
• Liability
• AMA House
• » More

• Book Excerpt
• Business Pitch
• Meetings
• » More

• Contract Language
• Ethics Forum
• In the Courts
• Practice Management
• Technically Speaking
• » More

• Issue dates
• Regions
• Health plans
• Sections
• News briefs
• Columns
• Editorials
• Letters
• Writers
• Other years

• Search tips
• E-mail alert
• Radio
• RSS
• Mobile
• Subscribe
• Institutions
• Staff directory
• Advertising
• Permissions
• Reprints
• News media
• Site guide
• Useful links
• About
• Premium
• Contact

Physicians sharpen focus in addressing obesity epidemic

New AMA policies balance societal action with personal responsibility, but stop short of defining obesity as a disease.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, amednews staff. July 5, 2004.

• PRINT|
• E-MAIL|
• RESPOND|
• REPRINTS|
• SHARE

Chicago -- Kids should run around, and communities should have safe places for them to play. Recreation facilities should also be accessible for adults to get exercise. And when everyone stops moving and starts eating, restaurants as well as school and workplace cafeterias should post nutritional information to enable healthy choices.

These are just a few of the recommendations advanced last month during the American Medical Association's Annual Meeting in Chicago that take aim at the obesity epidemic.

"If we can not only do something about food intake but also exercise, that's a one-two punch against obesity," said Patricia Randall, MD, a diagnostic radiologist and delegate from Fayetteville, N.Y.

The organization first officially recognized obesity as a major public health threat in 1998, and the AMA has now increased its focus.

"Physicians are becoming more and more aware -- as is just about everybody in our society -- that we have this raging epidemic of overweight and obesity," said AMA Trustee Ronald Davis, MD. "It's having devastating effects on our public health, and people are suffering."

The positions taken by the AMA strike a delicate balance between societal and individual responsibility. On one hand, the Association envisions a society in which both recreation and exercise facilities as well as posted nutritional information are readily available, making it easier for people to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. Still, the organization also recognizes that individuals need to make better choices.