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Surgeon General's Call to Action Against Excess Weight
On February 13, David Satcher, M.D. will exchange his role as U.S. Surgeon General for that of director of Morehouse University School of Medicine's new National Center for Primary Care. Given Satcher's low profile in the past few months, it's a transition unlikely to generate much public notice.
But don't let that recent low profile fool you. In the last months of his tenure as Surgeon General, Satcher has been creating a legacy that could benefit the public and keep the health behavior research community busy for years to come: a call to arms against obesity.
"The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity," issued in December 2001, is the culmination of Satcher's longstanding concern with the epidemic of excess body weight in the United States. A large section of the report is devoted to a detailed "menu of important activities" intended to "establish useful starting points as individuals and groups focus their own skills, creativity and inspiration on the national epidemic of overweight and obesity."
For those whose passion is health behavior, that section of the report will provide more than inspiration: it will also provide solid ground on which to base research proposals and funding requests. The menu -- a litany of potential research topics -- is prefaced by the following statement:
"Obviously, individual behavioral change lies at the core of all strategies to reduce overweight and obesity. Successful efforts, however, must focus no only on individual behavioral change, but also on group influences, institutional and community influences, and public policy."
Satcher's imminent departure from federal service raises a key question: Will the priorities identified in this report -- or in his other landmark reports on such issues as mental health -- be honored? It's too early to tell, but clearly the problems of overweight and obesity aren't going to disappear on their own. Moreover, given the high cost of treating obesity-related health problems, escalating health care costs and tightening health care funding, the nation cannot afford not to take action.
To download your copy of the report, go towww.surgeongeneral.gov
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