| Special Summit Faculty |
| Key Healthcare Policy Advisors for: |
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Barak Obama
Democratic
Presidental Nominee |
John McCain
Republician
Presidental
Nominee |
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Obesity is a major public health problem.
Approximately two-thirds of the US population is overweight (ie, BMI > 25) and nearly half of
those are obese (ie, BMI > 30). The increase in
obesity is linked to a corresponding increase
in obesity comorbidities, including type 2
diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, heart
disease, metabolic syndrome, stroke, asthma,
sleep apnea, liver and gallbladder disease,
depression, low back pain, urinary incontinence,
and several forms of cancer (eg, breast,
prostate, colon). Obese individuals have a 50%
to 100% increased risk of death from all causes
when compared with normal-weight individuals.
To help meet the challenges of obesity, the Cleveland
Clinic is presenting the Obesity Summit, a live 2.5-day
educational conference scheduled for September 10
to 12, 2008, at the InterContinental Hotel and Bank
of America Conference Center on the Cleveland Clinic
campus.
The overall goal of the program is to bring
together leaders in clinical practice and industry to
explore potential solutions to the emerging obesity
epidemic and, ultimately, to improve patient outcomes
and reduce obesity prevalence.
The Summit will have two distinct programs:
- An industry-focused program (1 day) devoted to
discussions of innovations and potential new
directions for therapeutic modalities;
- A clinical practice-focused CME program
(1.5 days) that will present evidence-based
discussions of obesity research findings,
prevention approaches, and management
strategies. It will also feature combined sessions
with the Gastroenterology Update Course.
Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, the participant will be able to do the following:
- Recognize the effects of recent research on the
models of obesity causes, including genetic and
biologic factors;
- Analyze the risk-benefit ratios of current
approaches to obesity management, including
behavior changes, pharmaceutical therapies,
and surgery;
- Review current management strategies for
addressing childhood obesity;
- Identify the key gastroenterology issues
associated with obesity;
- Review the physiologic effect of obesity on
cardio-metabolic factors;
- Assess the impact of weight loss from various
therapies on comorbidities associated with obesity,
primarily type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia,
and heart disease.
Target Audience
The Summit will be directed to healthcare
practitioners (including physicians, nurse
practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and
dietitians), researchers, hospital administrators,
medical device and pharmaceutical industry
leaders, managed care company executives,
venture capitalists, and others focusing on
obesity-related fields, including bariatric surgery,
endocrinology, gastroenterology, cardiology,
internal medicine, pulmonology, diet and nutrition,
psychiatry and psychology, urology, and primary
care medicine.
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