DMAA Launches Online Obesity Resource Center for Professionals, Consumers

Groundbreaking Approach to Obesity Benefit Design Centerpiece of Site

WASHINGTON—DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance today launched a Web site of information and tools for health plans, employers, physicians, consumers and others in the fight against obesity and its associated conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

The DMAA Obesity Resource Center, at orc.dmaa.org, features the DMAA Obesity Toolkit, a collection of research documents health plans, employers and others can use to design benefits specific to obesity treatment and management. The toolkit includes the DMAA Value-Based Benefit Design for Obesity and Comorbidities, an approach to designing an obesity benefit, which DMAA announced earlier this year.

"Obesity and its associated comorbid conditions present a severe and growing threat to individual health, workplace productivity and our nation's future," DMAA President and CEO Tracey Moorhead said. "With our Obesity Resource Center and Obesity Toolkit, DMAA provides health professionals, insurers, consumers and others with the educational resources and hands-on tools they need to effectively fight the obesity epidemic."

The Obesity Resource Center, developed with support from DMAA member sanofi-aventis, is the latest tangible product of a broader DMAA research effort, the Obesity with Associated Comorbidities Project. Since 2005, the project has produced a first-ever definition of obesity with associated comorbidities; two peer-reviewed literature reviews, including one with the National Committee for Quality Assurance; three years of dedicated educational sessions on obesity at the DMAA annual meeting; and the Obesity Toolkit and Web site.

The Web site DMAA launched today features:

• A downloadable, electronic version of the Obesity Toolkit CD-ROM.
• Peer-reviewed obesity literature, including select articles from the DMAA journal, Population Health Management.
• A comprehensive collection of online resources for consumers and providers.
• An online body mass index (BMI) calculator and related discussion of the significance of BMI measurements.
• A regularly updated listing of links to articles on obesity and overweight in the lay press.
• Slides and select archived recordings of 2006 and 2007 Obesity Management Summit presentations.
• Resources for employers, including the Obesity Toolkit and the Employer Toolkit on Wellness and Disease Management, produced jointly by DMAA and the National Association of Manufacturers in 2007.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about a third of American adults are categorized as obese and about 65 percent are categorized as overweight or obese. In 2000, poor diet and inactivity were estimated to contribute to about 400,000 deaths in the United States. The economic consequences also are considerable: Obesity accounts for 9 percent of national health care expenditures, or about $93 billion in 2002 dollars. The estimated annual direct cost of medical conditions related to overweight and obesity are $8.8 billion for heart disease, $98 billion for type 2 diabetes and $4.1 billion for hypertension.

DMAA will conduct a Webinar Monday, Oct. 20, on the Obesity Toolkit and other DMAA obesity research initiatives. To participate, please R.S.V.P. to dtolliver@dmaa.org.

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About DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance
DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance convenes all stakeholders providing services along the care continuum toward the goal of population health improvement. These care continuum services include strategies such as health and wellness promotion, disease management, and care coordination. DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance promotes the role of population health improvement in raising the quality of care, improving health outcomes and reducing preventable health care costs for individuals with chronic conditions and those at risk for developing chronic conditions. DMAA's activities in support of these efforts include advocacy, research and the promotion of best practices in care management.

DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance represents more than 200 corporate and individual stakeholders—including wellness, disease and care management organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers and benefit managers, health information technology innovators, biotechnology innovators, employers, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, and researchers and academicians. Visit DMAA on the Web at www.dmaa.org.