The purpose of the Summit is to develop a shared national agenda of practical steps the participating partners can consider taking to improve the contribution law makes to improve health by preventing and reducing obesity. To achieve this goal, CDC will convene key stakeholders and decision-makers from relevant sectors to engage in a structured, participatory process to assess the current status of legal issues associated with obesity prevention and control. Participants will identify significant gaps in knowledge, policy, competencies, coordination, and best practices. The ultimate goal of the Summit will include developing a shared national agenda of practical steps the participating partners can consider taking to improve the contribution law makes to this important public health issue. It is a strategic process and designed to result in a series of papers that will be published in a supplemental edition of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics.
The Summit's program focus is on issues related to nutrition, physical activity, and obesity. Poor nutritional habits and physical inactivity are the two principal risk factors for obesity. In addition to these two risk factors, there are programmatic and legal issues specific to obesity that must be considered, (e.g., discrimination, disability, and access to health care services). CDC has six target areas that form an evidence-based framework to prevent and control obesity. It recognizes four additional areas, listed below as 7–10, which are also necessary to appropriately address the social impact of obesity:
- Reducing consumption of "energy dense" or high-caloric foods
- Reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
- Increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables
- Increasing the initiation and duration of breastfeeding
- Reducing TV viewing
- Increasing physical activity across the life span
- Increasing development and dissemination of guidelines for physical activity and physical education standards
- Improving societal responses to the causes and condition of obesity, including reducing stigma and discrimination and improving disparities in priority indicators among population subgroups
- Reducing disparities in access to health care services for obese persons (e.g., medical coverage for obesity-related health conditions and treatment, durable medical equipment to conduct regular and routine exams, education and information dissemination to health care providers)
- Reducing barriers to obesity prevention and control (e.g., consensus building on the definition and classification of obesity as a disability and/or disabling condition)
