American Obesity Association

The American Obesity Association (AOA), founded in 1995 by the obesity researchers Richard L. Atkinson, MD, and Judith S. Stern, ScD, RD, is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to changing public policy and perceptions about obesity. The mission of the AOA is “to act as an agent change, move society to re-conceptualize obesity as a disease and to fashion appropriate strategies to deal with the epidemic.” The AOA is supported by the nonprofit organization the American Obesity Association Research Foundation, which raises money and commissions studies on obesity. Since 1997, AOA headquarters have been located in Washington, D.C.

Membership in the AOA is available in several different categories, including individual, professional provider, obesity-specific clinic, corporation, nonprofit/government/small business, and student. AOA members who provide obesity-related services may be listed in the AOA Provider Directory, an online resource to help consumers find professional assistance. Members providing obesity-related services are expected to adhere to the AOA Patient's Bill of Rights, available on the AOA website. The document spells out patient rights in 15 different areas, including the right to be informed of treatment options and the likelihood of various outcomes, to be informed about the anticipated costs and duration of services, to be informed about realistic weight-loss goals, to be informed that rapid weight loss may cause serious health problems.

The AOA has six programmatic areas of activity: education, research, prevention, treatment, consumer protection, and discrimination and stigma. Specific goals of the AOA include making obesity a public health priority, achieving recognition of obesity as a disease, supporting obesity prevention, getting obesity treatment included in health insurance coverage, advancing new treatments for obesity, expanding obesity research, improving the understanding of obesity, protecting consumers from obesity-related frauds, fighting discrimination against obese person, and supporting the obesity community.

AOA activities in support of these goals include lobbying and advocating before Congress, the White House, and federal agencies and departments for policies to support the AOA mission; interacting with the healthcare industry to develop, disseminate, and expand obesity treatment options; developing educational materials to explain AOA positions; creating coalitions with other organizations and corporations; and communicating AOA positions through news releases, testimony before Congress and federal agencies, appearances on television and at conferences and meetings, and the AOA e-newsletters and website.

In the area of education, AOA efforts are focused on gaining recognition of obesity as a chronic disease, educating practitioners and the general public about the health costs of obesity, and advocacy to make obesity one of ten Leading Health Indicators for Healthy People 2010. The AOA fact sheet Health Effects of Obesity, available from the AOA website, details the association of obesity with risk for many diseases and medical conditions, including diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and osteoarthritis.

Research is supported by the AOA primarily through advocating for increases in research dollars award to obesity-related projects, and informing obesity researchers of funding sources from federal agencies and elsewhere. The AOA Fact Sheet Obesity Research summarizes the amount of public funding for obesity research, relative to health risks and diseases, and summarizes its arguments for increased funding for obesity research. The AOA has also developed a proposal for the creation of a National Institute for Obesity Research within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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