Deirdre
This week, the 2nd Annual National Obesity Care Week (NOCW) seeks to ignite a national movement to ensure anyone affected by obesity receives respectful and comprehensive care. AICR is proud to join the campaign.
Today, more than a third of the adult population is affected by obesity. The number of adults who are affected by severe obesity continues to rise.
These statistics have serious implications for cancer rates. Aside from not smoking, staying a healthy weight is the single largest risk factor related to cancer. AICR research links excess body fat to eleven cancers, including colorectal, post-menopausal breast, esophageal and stomach.
With severe obesity on the rise, our nation, led by the healthcare community, must attack this disease from multiple angles and unite to overhaul the treatment of obesity.
Source: www.obesitycareweek.org
At AICR, we recognize this challenge and the important role we can play. Obesity is a multifactorial disease that can only be addressed with the full spectrum of evidence-based medical strategies, including:
- Intensive behavioral treatment
- Behavior modification: exercise, diet/meal replacement, support groups
- Weight management products and programs
- Healthcare provider-supervised weight management
- Medications for weight loss and chronic disease weight management
- Bariatric Surgery
We also are acutely aware of the role our healthcare providers can play. A recent study suggests that if primary care doctors take just 30 seconds to refer patients to a weight management program, physicians can help people affected by obesity lose weight.
This has tremendous potential for reducing cancer cases in future years. Here in the US, if everyone were a healthy weight, AICR estimates that approximately 130,000 cases of cancer could be prevented each year.
That is why we are supporting NOCW, and believe small steps can make all the difference to improve obesity-related diseases and future cancer rates.
Visit Obesity Care Week for more information and how to get involved.
