Today, 93 million Americans are affected by the disease of obesity. For too long, people with obesity have been stigmatized, preventing the effective treatment of the disease. Half of people with obesity report they have never had a conversation about their weight with a healthcare professional (HCP), and only 4 in 10 patients say they have been counseled about their weight by a HCP.

The conversation about weight between healthcare providers and their patients is avoided for many reasons, including healthcare provider-based weight bias and a lack of knowledge regarding obesity’s impact on health.

To address a lack of appropriate, science and clinically-based care, the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), The Obesity Society (TOS), the STOP Obesity Alliance, the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA), and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) have launched OCW with a vision to create a society that understands, respects and accepts the complexities of obesity and values science and clinically-based care. OCW will achieve this vision to change the way we care about obesity by:

• • Elevating societal awareness of the disease of obesity, those affected by it, its science and clinically-based treatment and weight bias
• • Building a fact-based understanding of obesity among individuals impacted by the disease, healthcare professionals, medical societies, policy makers, payers, and other stakeholders
• • Facilitating a shift to science and clinically-based treatments for those living with obesity