The Heart of It All: Impact of Obesity on Cardiometabolic Health Congressional Briefing

Hosted by American Medical Women's Association (AMWA).

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease that is increasing in prevalence and affecting about 42.4% of U.S. adults. As a leading cause of preventable death, obesity is also a major driver of healthcare costs.

Fortunately, our understanding of obesity has increased tremendously over the past decade. We now know that obesity is a multifactorial disease where genetics, environment, and behavior influence a person’s likelihood of developing obesity. We now have effective therapies to manage obesity and its comorbid conditions, yet one of the main barriers is access to care.

Obesity is the greatest contributor to the burden of chronic diseases accounting for 47.1% of the total healthcare costs nationwide, or $1.72 trillion dollars in the US, based on the most current data available (2016). Effective treatment can improve health outcomes and yield substantial savings for the nation’s healthcare system.

Join us to hear from experts about opportunities for intervention. Without effective management, the associated medical costs for obesity-related conditions including heart disease, hypertension, elevated lipids, diabetes, sleep apnea, orthopedic conditions, and some cancers, will continue to rise.