NAASO, The Obesity Society, invites applicants for the position of Editor, Obesity, to succeed the current editor, Barbara Corkey, PhD. Dr. Corkey will be completing her term in December 31, 2007. The position will begin July 1, 2007 to allow for a transition to full editorial responsibility on January 1, 2008.

The Society seeks a person who clearly demonstrates outstanding scholarly leadership and administrative effectiveness to further position Obesity as the preeminent publication in the field. Applicants must have a strong record in the field of obesity research. Preference will be given to applicants who possess: a clear vision of the journal's future; an admirable record of research and scholarly publications in obesity and associated areas; a working knowledge of both journal publication strategies and emerging information technologies; proven leadership strengths and ample personal commitment and time to fulfill the range of editorial responsibilities.

Click here for a detailed description of the responsibilities of the editor-in chief.

Applicants should submit a letter indicating interest in the editor's position; a vision statement relative to the Journal's future, and a current curriculum vitae. Applications must be received by March 1, 2007. Nominations are also welcomed.

Address all correspondence and inquiries to Gary Foster, PhD, Chair of the Editor Search Committee. All materials must be submitted electronically.

The Obesity Society's Annual Meeting Program Committee has issued a Call for Proposals for education sessions to be presented at the 2007 Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans. Both the call for proposals, including proposal guidelines and content categories, and a proposal submission form are now available online. All proposals will be reviewed by the Annual Meeting Program Committee, which will select those to be scheduled on the program. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee acceptance.

The deadline for proposals is February 1, 2007. Please refer to the guidelines before submitting your proposal. If you have any questions, please email Robert J. Eckrich ,Director, Education Programs, or contact him by phone at (301) 563-6526.

Dear Colleagues and Members,

I hope that you and your families had an enjoyable and relaxing time during the holiday season. We should all be full of energy and enthusiasm to tackle the many challenges facing The Obesity Society in the coming months. Morgan Downey, our new executive vice president, has now been with the society for more than three months and is in the process of hiring new personnel for the national office. As you can see from his notes, after a rapid immersion with our science at the Boston annual meeting, Morgan has already tackled many issues.

National focus
One important effort has been to draw President Bush's attention and urge the administration to tackle the growing epidemic of obesity through the initiation of several policy steps. These steps include more funding for research, improved Medicare coverage including weight management, and appointment of a surgeon general with obesity expertise. Let's hope that reference to obesity will be part of the "State of the Union."

Obesity
Dr. Gary Foster and the Publication Committee have also made terrific administrative progress toward our important search for a new editor-in-chief for Obesity. After the major leap the journal took under the direction of Dr. Barbara Corkey, it is now time for a new five-year editor-in-chief appointment, during which Obesity should reach new levels in publication quality. In conjunction with a new editor, we have also decided to search for a new publisher to further improve journal income and the speed from submission to publication.

Two new committees formed
Recently, two new society committees have been created: The Development Committee and the North American Global Alliance. These two committees will be tackling issues of major concern to The Obesity Society.

Obesity is reaching an unprecedented level of visibility and concern across wide parts of the American landscape. Under the leadership of Dr. George Bray, the Development Committee will lead the society's effort to identify philanthropic institutions interested in supporting obesity-related projects. We cannot think of a better person than Dr Bray to steer this effort.

Chaired by Dr. Lou Aronne, the North American Global Alliance committee is charged first with identifying the major obesity stakeholders and second to organize a summit during which a new alliance could provide a unique voice for tackling the obesity epidemic.

2007 Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans
In December, I had the privilege of spending a day-and- a-half with Morgan Downey in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We both got reassurance that New Orleans is ready to welcome our meeting next October. Towards this end, our Program Committee will meet in early February to draft a program for the scientific meeting with our usual four tracks as well as a fifth one, Clinical Practice.

Society co-sponsors meeting in France
On a final note, I should mention that The Obesity Society has provided its support to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in co-sponsoring a meeting in Strasbourg, France. Scheduled for March 29-31, 2007, the meeting is entitled International Conference on Gastrointestinal Surgery to Treat Type 2 Diabetes.

I am excited to see that things are moving rapidly and hope that you share my enthusiasm for the opportunities lying ahead this coming year.

Eric Ravussin
President

In December, Obesity Society President Eric Ravussin wrote to President George Bush urging his Administration to initiate a number of policy steps to affect the growing obesity epidemic. Ravussin urged the President:

• To appoint obesity experts to the key positions of Surgeon General and Director of the National Institute on Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease;

• To expand obesity research funding at the National Institutes of Health three-fold, to $1.5 billion from the current $519 million level;

• To expand Medicare coverage to include physician counseling for weight management and to cover drugs to treat obesity under Part D of Medicare;

• To modernize the Food and Drug Administration guidances for developers of obesity drugs;

• To review the No Child Left Behind law to see if the law unintentionally has reduced child physical activity in schools;

• To review the Farm Bill to determine if the messages in the Dietary Guidelines are being followed by commodity check-off programs;

• To expand enforcement of laws protecting consumers from misleading and harmful dietary supplements and other weight loss schemes;

• To ensure that federally funded community obesity prevention efforts include an evaluation component.

On January 4, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission announced it was recovering $25 million in settlement of four cases, alleging that weight loss and weight control claims were not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. The products affected are Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa and One-A-Day WeightSmart. The companies have agreed to limit future advertising claims but the products remain on the market.

Last year, The Obesity Society entered into an agreement with Shaping America's Health - the Association for Weight Management and Obesity Prevention, an arm of the American Diabetes Association. One of the first joint activities was just held - a consensus conference on waist circumference measurement. Chair of the panel was former society president Samuel Klein. The panel heard from experts and is currently drafting its statement.

Recently, The Obesity Society entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with We Can, a project of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. We Can (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition) currently has more than 90 community sites. Obesity Society members may subscribe to an email newsletter and access other resources.

The Obesity Society has completed its committee structure for the upcoming year. Three new committees have been formed, including an audit committee, a development committee and a committee to develop a North American Alliance on Obesity. Listed below are the chairs for each committee. Committee work takes a great deal of time and we are indebted to these individuals for so generously working on the Society's behalf:

Awards Committee: Thomas Wadden
Audit Committee: TBD
Clinical Committee: Nikhil Dhurandhur
Corporate Advisory Committee:
Gary Foster and Bruce Daggy
Development Committee: George Bray
Education Committee: Patrick O'Neil
Ethics Committee: Myles Faith
Finance: Cathy Kotz
Membership Committee: Aviva Must
Nominating Committee: Thomas Wadden
North American Global Alliance: Louis Aronne
Program Committee: Andrew Greenberg
Public Affairs: Barry Popkin
Publications Committee: Melinda Sothern
3rd Party Reimbursement Task Force: Louis Aronne
Weight Bias Task Force: Rebecca Puhl
Women & Minorities:
Jose Fernandez and Jennifer Lovejoy

The growing importance of obesity is showing in a couple of recent polls. In one poll conducted for Research!America, more than 52% of Americans agree that obesity is a public health issue which society needs to help solve. Other findings indicate:
• 46% believe it is a private issue people need to deal with on their own.
• 84% say the U.S. government should invest in public health and prevention programs to reduce obesity.
• 81% believe it is important for the government to invest in research to reduce obesity.

Obesity ranks fourth on the list of "most important health issues" for individuals, after cancer and heart disease and just one point below diabetes - and above stroke, childhood diseases, osteoporosis, and aging. However, obesity is mentioned first - the most important health issue - facing children, ahead of lack of health care/insurance, nutrition/unhealthy diet, diabetes, cancer, and immunization.

Obesity is the fourth condition indicated as "most important health issue facing the country," after health insurance/costs, cancer, and access to care, and ahead of HIV/AIDS and heart disease. Eighty-nine percent believe physical education in schools should be offered at least every other day. For more details on this study, visit Research!America's Web site.

This survey is similar to one analyzed by Robert J. Blendon, et al, Understanding the American's Public Health Priorities: A 2006 Perspective (Health Affairs, 25, no.6 (2006): w508-515). In this poll, respondents were asked to state in their own words what they thought were the two most important diseases or health conditions for the government to address. Cancer and HIV/AIDS were the two top conditions. A parallel question asked about conditions which posed the greatest threat to the American public. Here, the ranking was essentially identical to the previous question. However, obesity tied with diabetes for fifth place. According to the authors, "This suggests that a share of the public sees obesity as a serious national health concern but not as a current top priority for government action even though almost half (47%) see obesity as a major problem in their communities."