Prevent Disease.com - Group Launches Program to Tackle Obesity



		Group Launches Program to Tackle Obesity Efforts to fight obesity across the world gained momentum with the launch of a professional certification program for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, and fitness trainers. "It will be a serious vetting process to weed out the people who are serious from the amateurs — to professionalize the whole field," said Neville Rigby, director of policy at the International Obesity Task Force, which will run the initiative. The move was announced at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague, attended by more than 2,500 scientists. The meeting is the first gathering of obesity experts since the world's health ministers on Saturday adopted a landmark World Health Organization plan to tackle obesity and other diseases caused by bad diet and exercise habits. "We are now on the move," said Dr. Philip James, president of the International Obesity Task Force, a global coalition of obesity scientists and research centers. A mini version of the program — SCOPE, or Specialist Certification of Obesity Professionals in Europe — was unveiled last year as a pilot project . By the end of this year, the program — the first certification effort of it's kind in the world — will expand globally and nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, dietitians and exercise and fitness professionals will also be eligible, along with other groups who intend to work in the community management of obesity. "This will become an important qualification for those non-medical professionals who want to be involved in helping to tackle obesity and will enable the public and patients to identify whether fitness instructors, dietary advisers and others offering counseling services on obesity are properly qualified to do so," said Dr. Vojtech Hainer, president-elect of the European Association for the Study of Obesity. Hainer and other experts gathered in Prague called on the European Union to make the battle against obesity a priority. In most European countries, more than half of the population are overweight or obese. Countries in central and eastern Europe, which joined the European Union this month, have the worst problem. England has the fastest growing epidemic, but the fattest of them all remains the United States, where two-thirds of people are either overweight or obese, according to the International Obesity Task Force. In another indication that efforts to fight the flab are getting more concrete, the first Europe-wide guidelines for doctors on how to treat obesity were released at the meeting. To reinforce the gravity of the condition, the guidelines classify overweight people "pre-obese." Obesity is defined by a complicated formula involving height and weight, called the body mass index, or BMI. A BMI of 18 to 25 is considered healthy. People with a BMI over 25 are considered overweight and those whose BMI is 30 or more are classified as obese. About 1.7 billion people around the world are overweight or obese. Among children, one in 10 is too fat. The prevalence is doubling every 10 years. The guidelines advise doctors to look out for eating disorders, stress, smoking cessation and other factors that contribute to obesity and say that everything from high cholesterol to low self esteem need to be addressed. A loss of between 5 percent and 15 percent of body weight is advised for most obese people, they say, and a loss of more than 20 percent may be considered for particularly obese people — those with a body mass index above 35. The guidelines recommend that calorie restriction should be individualized and take into account genes, exercise and previous dieting attempts. For most people, a cut of 600 calories a day, which would trim about half a kilogram (one pound) a week, is considered sufficient and appropriate. The body's drive to maintain a high weight would overwhelm any deeper cuts than that, experts say. Treatment for depression, anxiety and stress should be incorporated, as those conditions interfere with successful weight management, the guidelines recommend. For people the "pre-obese," prevention of further weight gain may be an appropriate target, the guidelines say. The Czech government became the first to launch a national obesity task force Thursday, just days after the world's health ministers agreed their global strategy to prevent obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Two main goals of the task force will be to improve diets by reducing the intake of sugary and fatty food and increasing the consumption of high fiber foods, as well as promoting more exercise. ___ On the Net International Obesity Task Force: http://www.iotf.org Reference Source 89 For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".