NAASO, The Obesity Society and Shaping America's Health Join Forces to Combat Obesity.

BOSTON -- NAASO, The Obesity Society at its 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting announced that it has established a working partnership with Shaping America's Health to continue to bring more resources to the challenge of reversing the trends in obesity and weight management. "As the leading scientific society dedicated to the study of obesity we wanted to establish a relationship with Shaping America's Health because of their grassroots work in communities," said Morgan Downey, JD, NAASO, The Obesity Society Executive Director. According to Michael D. Jensen, MD, President of Shaping America's Health and Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, "the goal of the working partnership is to collaborate in making sure that scientifically sound information is communicated effectively for families and communities."

The working partnership is an opportunity for both organizations to utilize each others strengths in executing strategies to encourage communities to work together across all sectors to bring about sustainable change. Initially the partnership will work together in conducting a series of four knowledge development conferences. A panel of scientific and medical leaders will listen to invited thought leaders' presentations and engage in-depth discussions. The panel will then evaluate the scientific evidence and develop a document that will clarify the issues and provide guidance to health professionals and the public. The four conferences include: Assessing the Medical Risk of Overweight/Obesity: Should Waist Circumference be Measured in Clinical Practice? ; Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Health Outcomes Related to Childhood Obesity: Implications for Treatment and Prevention; Community Interventions for Prevention of Obesity; and Environmental Factors Associated with Obesity/Diabetes; Healthy Environments Within Buildings.

Since 1982, The Obesity Society has been committed to encouraging research on the causes, treatment, and prevention of obesity as well as to keeping the scientific community and public informed of new advances in the field. The Obesity Society's 2,000 members are basic and clinical researchers as well as health care professionals involved in preventing and treating obesity.

Shaping America's Health was founded by the American Diabetes Association because of the clear evidence that better weight management can reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Shaping America's Health's mission is to prevent and treat excess weight and obesity, and to facilitate a better scientific understanding of weight management.