Conference focuses on practical strategies for preventing and treating obesity

Tampa, FL (April 10, 2002) -- Health care practitioners will gain practical approaches to preventing and treating obesity in adults and children at the University of South Florida College of Medicine's 3rd Annual Conference on Obesity April 13 and 14 in Clearwater Beach.

The conference takes on particular significance in light of the recent IRS ruling making physician-prescribed plans to treat obesity tax deductible.

"This will have a profound effect in legitimizing obesity as a public health issue," said Conference Director Duane Eichler, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and pediatric endocrinology at USF.

Dr. Eichler said he expects insurance companies and Medicare to eventually follow suit by offering coverage for obesity, which has become an epidemic in the United States. "The new ruling will give new meaning to preventive medicine, which, by history, insurance companies have refused to pay for.

"It may take some time, but the pedulum is now swinging in the direction of giving the consumer added clout in forcing coverage for the treatment of obesity�. The bottom line is that paying for preventive therapies will likely be less expensive than long-term coverage of the chronic diseases secondary to obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease."

The conference, to be held at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, brings together nationally-recognized experts on obesity and weight management.

The speakers will discuss pharmacological and non-pharmcological options for weight management, the pathophysiology of body composition and energy balance, advances in obesity clinical research, the role that ethnicity, culture and socioeconomic factors play in obesity, and developing a weight control program for your practice.

The conference is presented by the Interdisciplinary Obesity Treatment and Research Center at USF.

For more information, please call the USF Continuing Professional Education Office at
813-974-4296.