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Q We hear so much about the problem of obesity and the damaging conditions associated with it. I’ve never heard about a connection between obesity and cancer. I’m a big woman, and I’d like to know if I should be concerned.

A If you are obese, yes, you should be concerned. In addition to contributing to heart problems, diabetes, hypertension, and joint problems, doctors say there is an apparent link between obesity and cancer.

A recent study revealed that the combination of too much weight and a lack of physical activity are factors that increase the risk for various forms of cancer. Researchers say obese women were 1.5 times more likely to die from some form of cancer than other women.

See your doctor for a thorough examination, which is the first step toward lessening your risk for cancer and other life-threatening conditions.

Losing as little as a five to 10 percent of body weight and maintaining that loss can significantly improve the health of obese patients by increasing glucose tolerance and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Therefore, if you are overweight or obese, you should seek medical help to lose weight as well as to maintain it. To be successful at achieving weight loss goals to improve your health, experts recommend losing weight a rate of no more than one to two pounds per week, and then maintaining that loss for six months before losing more. Maintaining weight loss can be more difficult than losing the weight to begin with, so long-term lifestyle change is key.

A 1999 study of 2,800 individuals who lost at least 30 pounds and maintained the weight loss for more than a year reported the following:

* about 55 percent had been involved in a formal weight loss program

* 20 percent succeeded with liquid diets

* 4.3 percent used medications

* 1.3 percent had surgery

* 81 percent reported that they exercised more often and more vigorously than with previous attempts

The good news is that burning off more calories than you’re taking in will cause you to lose weight. The bad news is, there’s no magic formula. Studies have found that if you lose the weight slowly, you’ll be much more effective at keeping it off, especially if you incorporate exercise into your routine and reduce other sedentary behavior, such as watching TV.

The safest way to lose weight is to eat a nutritionally complete diet that is moderate in calories and fat, add exercise to your daily routine and decrease sedentary activities. In some cases, for example, if your health is being immediately and severely compromised because of your weight, faster weight loss may be appropriate. In these cases, your health care professional may recommend drug therapy or surgery.

Changing Your Diet

The first element of treatment is changing your diet. Your health care professional should provide detailed guidance on the number and types of calories you should eat. But as a rule of thumb, if you take in about 250 calories per day less than is needed to maintain your current weight, combined with an exercise regime that burns an additional 250 calories a day, you will lose about a pound per week.

To determine how many calories your body needs to maintain its basic functions-known as your basal metabolic rate, multiply your current weight by 10. For example, a woman who weighs 200 pounds requires 2,000 calories per day to maintain bodily functions such as breathing and digestion. You need additional calories-about 30 to 50 percent more if you are moderately active-to provide energy for daily activities like walking, vacuuming, even sitting at the computer.

It’s difficult to determine exactly how many calories you need to maintain your weight at your current level of physical activity. You may want to take your basal metabolic rate and add about 10 percent if you’re relatively sedentary, 20 percent if you’re lightly active, and 30 percent if you’re moderately active, and then subtract the 250 calories to arrive at your new recommended daily total. A slightly more accurate method is to keep a detailed food diary over the course of a few days to a week during which you maintain your weight. Determine exactly how many calories you eat on an average day-several books and web sites provide calorie counts for thousands of different foods-and use that figure as a starting place from which you would subtract 250 calories.

After you’ve determined how many calories per day you should eat, you need to plan daily menus. A dietitian or nutritionist can help you plan menus that include the types and amounts of food you should eat, which, in most cases, should be based on guidelines developed by the federal government in its Dietary Guidelines and revised most recently in January 2005 (the newly revised Food Pyramid was released in April 2005). The guidelines emphasize calorie reduction as well as balance, moderation and variety in food choices, with a special emphasis on whole grain products, vegetables and fruits.

To satisfy basic nutritional needs, eat a variety of foods including low-fat dairy, healthy protein sources like chicken, fish, eggs, and soy products, vegetables and whole grains- and allow for an occasional treat. While you should try to cut back on excess fats and sugars, all foods and beverages can be consumed in moderation. As soon as you label a food as “off limits,” chances are you will crave and perhaps even binge on it.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend the following (based on a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet; to find the amounts that are right for you, visit the Food Pyramid website at www.MyPyramid.gov):

Meat and Beans (Protein)

* Eat 5 1/2 ounces of protein every day (vary your choices of meats, poultry, fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds)

Fruits, Vegetables and Milk

* Eat sufficient amounts of fruits (2 cups daily) and vegetables (2 1/2 cups daily), while staying within your energy needs.

America has become a nation of chronically overweight people. Today approximately 65 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese, and 30.5 percent are obese, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Between 1991 and 2002, the percentage of Americans who meet the criteria for obesity more than doubled. Moreover, the National Institutes of Health estimates that 34.7 million American women 20 years of age and older are obese. Why are these facts alarming?

Obesity (and unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyles that don’t include much or any physical activity) results in 300,000 preventable deaths each year in the U.S. and $100 billion in health care costs. Overweight people are more likely to have high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, major risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Results of a large study supported by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) suggests that excess body weight is strongly and independently associated with an increased risk of heart failure.

As people become overweight, their glucose tolerance declines, putting them at twice the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a major cause of early death, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, blindness and amputation. Several types of cancer are associated with being overweight, including cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovary, breast and colon. Other conditions linked with obesity include sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gout, gallbladder disease and infertility. Obesity-related conditions worsen as weight increases and often improve as the excess weight is lost.

Obesity is a major component of a group of metabolic risk factors known collectively as metabolic syndrome, or Syndrome X, including:

* Central obesity (too much fat tissue in and around the abdomen)

* High triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol, which both cause plaque accumulation in the arteries

* High blood pressure (130/85 mm HG or higher)Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance

* and several other conditions, called proinflammatory and prothrombotic states. Ask your health care professional for more information.

The underlying cause of metabolic syndrome is overweight/obesity, physical inactivity and genetic factors. People who have this syndrome are at increased risk for developing coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Obesity is a complex disorder. It is caused by multiple factors, both environmental and inherited, including excessive calorie and food intake, decreased physical activity and genetic influences. The formula for weight gain is fairly straightforward, however. You gain weight when you consume more calories (energy) than your body uses or needs.

What’s the difference between being obese and being overweight? The defining characteristic in both overweight and obese people is excess body fat. The difference is a matter of degree.

Health care professionals use a simple calculation called the body mass index (BMI) to determine body weight relative to height. In adults, the BMI sum strongly correlates with total body fat content in adults. (See the Treatment section at this Web site for information on how to calculate BMI.) Overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.

Where excess body fat is distributed on your body also plays a role in your risk for disease. Weight gain around your waist (specifically in your abdominal area) is more of a health risk because it is more metabolically active than weight gained on your hips and thighs. Excess abdominal fat is associated with an increase in blood cholesterol and insulin resistance, which may result in diabetes. An “apple shaped” figure may also raise your risks for other life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke.

Thousands of advertisements for candy and sugary foods help fuel the epidemic of childhood obesity in America, a pair of new studies asserts. The Kaiser Family Foundation said in a study released Tuesday that the main mechanism through which the media contribute to childhood obesity is through billions of dollars worth of advertising. “The number of ads children see on TV has doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 since the 1970s, and the majority of ads targeted to kids are for candy, cereal and fast food,” the Foundation said. It reported that 15.3 percent of children aged six to 11 were listed as overweight in 1999-2000, compared to 4.2 percent in 1963-1970.

Meanwhile, The American Psychological Association (APA) called for the government to restrict ads aimed at children under 8. Dr. Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist who was a co-author of the APA report, said actions: “Could include specific restrictions on advertising junk food or toys that promote violence or precocious sexuality. Given the developmental vulnerabilities young children have to advertising, however, a prohibition on all marketing aimed at children is the only truly effective solution.” Unlike the APA, the Kaiser foundation did not endorse any specific action, saying many options are available to policy-makers, food companies, the media and parents. The APA estimated that advertisers spend more than $12 billion per year on advertising messages aimed at young people.

Dale Kunkel of the University of California, Santa Barbara, a co-author of the APA report, said its study “shows young children are uniquely vulnerable to commercial persuasion.” Kunkel added, “The most predominant products marketed to children are sugared cereals, candies, sweets, sodas and snack foods.”

Kunkel said a six-person team of psychologists spent 18 months analyzing studies of children and their reaction to advertising. The basic concept is understanding persuasive intent, and children aged 8 and younger generally do not grasp that intent, Kunkel explained. Older children and adults recognize the intent to sell and know advertising can exaggerate, though they may not apply that knowledge in every case, he said. “What we’re saying is that, because children 8 and below cannot grasp intent … it is inherently unfair,” Kunkel said.

The APA report recommended:

* “Governmental action to protect young children from commercial exploitation” through advertising.

* Making sure disclosures and disclaimers in advertising directed to children are in language easily understood, such as “you have to put it together,” rather than “some assembly required”.

* Investigating how young children comprehend and are influenced by advertising in new interactive media environments such as the Internet.

* Examining the influence of advertising directed to children in the school and classroom.

In recognition of the need for better resources and to support primary care practitioners in developing a more structured approach to weight management, the National Obesity Forum has developed an interactive educational CD-ROM, which outlines a treatment algorithm and provides practitioners with in-depth information and clear guidelines on how to manage obesity in primary care. This article aims to outline the information and guidelines provided within the package and to consider how primary care practitioners can best utilise this resource.

It is well recognised that obesity substantially increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, particularly in relation to conditions involving the cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine systems (Conway and Rene, 2004). Primary care organisations are now at the forefront of the management of long-term conditions and as levels of obesity continue to increase so too will the burden of care associated with this complex condition. Those working in a primary care setting are ideally placed to detect, monitor and manage obesity; however, few practitioners have received formal training on this topic (Astrup et al, 2004) and there is a lack of suitable educational resources compared with other areas of chronic disease management.

The purpose of producing an educational CD-ROM was to make available a comprehensive, flexible and interactive tool which would aid practitioners in developing the necessary knowledge and skills to manage obesity in primary care.

The specific aims of the National Obesity Forum’s (NOF) CD-ROM are as follows.

* To inform and update health professionals (primarily GPs and practice nurses) on the causes, consequences and prevalence of obesity.

* To highlight the importance of treating obesity and to recommend a treatment algorithm which will guide practitioners to approach weight management in a structured and cohesive manner.

* To provide detailed guidance on the treatments available to manage adult obesity.

* To outline a framework on how obesity management could be integrated into the existing responsibilities of a primary care team.

* To improve understanding of childhood obesity.

* To provide support materials and suggestions for further reading, and other resources, which aid in the management of obesity.

CD-ROM technology has allowed the information to be presented in two parts. The first part provides for those with limited time and gives practical guidance on all aspects of the obesity management algorithm. The information is presented in an interactive summary format (Figure 1 illustrates the menu screen), enabling users to work through each clearly defined section at their own pace and order of preference/need; this includes video clips of role-played patient-practitioner scenarios as well as graphics and voice-over demonstrations of various techniques, such as how to measure waist circumference (Figure 2). The second part of the CD-ROM is presented in the form of in-depth PDF articles and supports the interactive layer by providing the user with more detailed information and references.

Using the educational tool

Primary care practitioners already manage a wide variety of chronic conditions in their practice populations. The addition of obesity management can therefore be a daunting prospect and many GPs and practice nurses have expressed concern about their level of skill and the capacity of primary care to manage this condition effectively. The NOF educational package provides those working in primary care with a tool which reflects modern technology, is comprehensive in nature and is structured for flexible learning to enable them to better manage obesity in their practices.

The management algorithm can be adapted to fit with local strategies. Users can download tools (such as food and activity recording sheets, and information leaflets for patients) from within the package. The CD-ROM would also complement any relevant obesity training accessed by staff and could serve to update and consolidate any knowledge gained.

The management algorithm

The educational package is built around a management algorithm, which provides guidance on how obesity interventions can be structured in primary care (Figure 3). Simplicity and utility were key concepts in terms of the development of the algorithm. Users are guided through each step of the algorithm and explanations are provided on how to:

* screen and target groups

* raise the issue of obesity and discuss options for intervention

* conduct a clinical and behavioural assessment.

The evidence relating to treatment options, including diet, physical activity, medication and surgery, are outlined in the in-depth PDF files with practical guidance on each of these treatments provided in the interactive part. Non-NHS treatments (such as commercial slimming clubs, self-help books and internet sites) are also considered. The important aspect of long-term weight maintenance is included in the management algorithm.

Q We hear so much about the problem of obesity and the damaging conditions associated with it. I’ve never heard about a connection between obesity and cancer. I’m a big woman, and I’d like to know if I should be concerned.

A If you are obese, yes, you should be concerned. In addition to contributing to heart problems, diabetes, hypertension, and joint problems, doctors say there is an apparent link between obesity and cancer.

A recent study revealed that the combination of too much weight and a lack of physical activity are factors that increase the risk for various forms of cancer. Researchers say obese women were 1.5 times more likely to die from some form of cancer than other women.

See your doctor for a thorough examination, which is the first step toward lessening your risk for cancer and other life-threatening conditions.

America has become a nation of chronically overweight people. Today approximately 65 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese, and 30.5 percent are obese, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Between 1991 and 2002, the percentage of Americans who meet the criteria for obesity more than doubled. Moreover, the National Institutes of Health estimates that 34.7 million American women 20 years of age and older are obese. Why are these facts alarming?

Obesity (and unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyles that don’t include much or any physical activity) results in 300,000 preventable deaths each year in the U.S. and $100 billion in health care costs. Overweight people are more likely to have high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, major risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Results of a large study supported by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) suggests that excess body weight is strongly and independently associated with an increased risk of heart failure.

As people become overweight, their glucose tolerance declines, putting them at twice the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a major cause of early death, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, blindness and amputation. Several types of cancer are associated with being overweight, including cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovary, breast and colon. Other conditions linked with obesity include sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gout, gallbladder disease and infertility. Obesity-related conditions worsen as weight increases and often improve as the excess weight is lost.

Obesity is a major component of a group of metabolic risk factors known collectively as metabolic syndrome, or Syndrome X, including:

* Central obesity (too much fat tissue in and around the abdomen)

* High triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol, which both cause plaque accumulation in the arteries

* High blood pressure (130/85 mm HG or higher)Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance

* and several other conditions, called proinflammatory and prothrombotic states. Ask your health care professional for more information.

The underlying cause of metabolic syndrome is overweight/obesity, physical inactivity and genetic factors. People who have this syndrome are at increased risk for developing coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Obesity is a complex disorder. It is caused by multiple factors, both environmental and inherited, including excessive calorie and food intake, decreased physical activity and genetic influences. The formula for weight gain is fairly straightforward, however. You gain weight when you consume more calories (energy) than your body uses or needs.

What’s the difference between being obese and being overweight? The defining characteristic in both overweight and obese people is excess body fat. The difference is a matter of degree.

Health care professionals use a simple calculation called the body mass index (BMI) to determine body weight relative to height. In adults, the BMI sum strongly correlates with total body fat content in adults. (See the Treatment section at this Web site for information on how to calculate BMI.) Overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.

Where excess body fat is distributed on your body also plays a role in your risk for disease. Weight gain around your waist (specifically in your abdominal area) is more of a health risk because it is more metabolically active than weight gained on your hips and thighs. Excess abdominal fat is associated with an increase in blood cholesterol and insulin resistance, which may result in diabetes. An “apple shaped” figure may also raise your risks for other life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke.

Thousands of advertisements for candy and sugary foods help fuel the epidemic of childhood obesity in America, a pair of new studies asserts. The Kaiser Family Foundation said in a study released Tuesday that the main mechanism through which the media contribute to childhood obesity is through billions of dollars worth of advertising. “The number of ads children see on TV has doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 since the 1970s, and the majority of ads targeted to kids are for candy, cereal and fast food,” the Foundation said. It reported that 15.3 percent of children aged six to 11 were listed as overweight in 1999-2000, compared to 4.2 percent in 1963-1970.

Meanwhile, The American Psychological Association (APA) called for the government to restrict ads aimed at children under 8. Dr. Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist who was a co-author of the APA report, said actions: “Could include specific restrictions on advertising junk food or toys that promote violence or precocious sexuality. Given the developmental vulnerabilities young children have to advertising, however, a prohibition on all marketing aimed at children is the only truly effective solution.” Unlike the APA, the Kaiser foundation did not endorse any specific action, saying many options are available to policy-makers, food companies, the media and parents. The APA estimated that advertisers spend more than $12 billion per year on advertising messages aimed at young people.

Dale Kunkel of the University of California, Santa Barbara, a co-author of the APA report, said its study “shows young children are uniquely vulnerable to commercial persuasion.” Kunkel added, “The most predominant products marketed to children are sugared cereals, candies, sweets, sodas and snack foods.”

Kunkel said a six-person team of psychologists spent 18 months analyzing studies of children and their reaction to advertising. The basic concept is understanding persuasive intent, and children aged 8 and younger generally do not grasp that intent, Kunkel explained. Older children and adults recognize the intent to sell and know advertising can exaggerate, though they may not apply that knowledge in every case, he said. “What we’re saying is that, because children 8 and below cannot grasp intent … it is inherently unfair,” Kunkel said.

The APA report recommended:

* “Governmental action to protect young children from commercial exploitation” through advertising.

* Making sure disclosures and disclaimers in advertising directed to children are in language easily understood, such as “you have to put it together,” rather than “some assembly required”.

* Investigating how young children comprehend and are influenced by advertising in new interactive media environments such as the Internet.

* Examining the influence of advertising directed to children in the school and classroom.

In recognition of the need for better resources and to support primary care practitioners in developing a more structured approach to weight management, the National Obesity Forum has developed an interactive educational CD-ROM, which outlines a treatment algorithm and provides practitioners with in-depth information and clear guidelines on how to manage obesity in primary care. This article aims to outline the information and guidelines provided within the package and to consider how primary care practitioners can best utilise this resource.

Key words

- Obesity

- National Obesity Forum

- Educational tool

- CD-ROM

- Obesity management algorithm

It is well recognised that obesity substantially increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, particularly in relation to conditions involving the cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine systems (Conway and Rene, 2004). Primary care organisations are now at the forefront of the management of long-term conditions and as levels of obesity continue to increase so too will the burden of care associated with this complex condition. Those working in a primary care setting are ideally placed to detect, monitor and manage obesity; however, few practitioners have received formal training on this topic (Astrup et al, 2004) and there is a lack of suitable educational resources compared with other areas of chronic disease management.

The purpose of producing an educational CD-ROM was to make available a comprehensive, flexible and interactive tool which would aid practitioners in developing the necessary knowledge and skills to manage obesity in primary care.

The specific aims of the National Obesity Forum’s (NOF) CD-ROM are as follows.

* To inform and update health professionals (primarily GPs and practice nurses) on the causes, consequences and prevalence of obesity.

* To highlight the importance of treating obesity and to recommend a treatment algorithm which will guide practitioners to approach weight management in a structured and cohesive manner.

* To provide detailed guidance on the treatments available to manage adult obesity.

* To outline a framework on how obesity management could be integrated into the existing responsibilities of a primary care team.

* To improve understanding of childhood obesity.

* To provide support materials and suggestions for further reading, and other resources, which aid in the management of obesity.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

CD-ROM technology has allowed the information to be presented in two parts. The first part provides for those with limited time and gives practical guidance on all aspects of the obesity management algorithm. The information is presented in an interactive summary format (Figure 1 illustrates the menu screen), enabling users to work through each clearly defined section at their own pace and order of preference/need; this includes video clips of role-played patient-practitioner scenarios as well as graphics and voice-over demonstrations of various techniques, such as how to measure waist circumference (Figure 2). The second part of the CD-ROM is presented in the form of in-depth PDF articles and supports the interactive layer by providing the user with more detailed information and references.

Using the educational tool

Primary care practitioners already manage a wide variety of chronic conditions in their practice populations. The addition of obesity management can therefore be a daunting prospect and many GPs and practice nurses have expressed concern about their level of skill and the capacity of primary care to manage this condition effectively. The NOF educational package provides those working in primary care with a tool which reflects modern technology, is comprehensive in nature and is structured for flexible learning to enable them to better manage obesity in their practices.

The management algorithm can be adapted to fit with local strategies. Users can download tools (such as food and activity recording sheets, and information leaflets for patients) from within the package. The CD-ROM would also complement any relevant obesity training accessed by staff and could serve to update and consolidate any knowledge gained.

The management algorithm

The educational package is built around a management algorithm, which provides guidance on how obesity interventions can be structured in primary care (Figure 3). Simplicity and utility were key concepts in terms of the development of the algorithm. Users are guided through each step of the algorithm and explanations are provided on how to:

* screen and target groups

* raise the issue of obesity and discuss options for intervention

* conduct a clinical and behavioural assessment.

The evidence relating to treatment options, including diet, physical activity, medication and surgery, are outlined in the in-depth PDF files with practical guidance on each of these treatments provided in the interactive part. Non-NHS treatments (such as commercial slimming clubs, self-help books and internet sites) are also considered. The important aspect of long-term weight maintenance is included in the management algorithm.

For decades in the obesity research community, the name Dr. Shiriki K. Kumanyika has been virtually synonymous with culturally specific weight-control and dietary change research. But when she decided to take a more activist role in designing research to reduce the rates of obesity and its associated health risks in the Black community, she decided to get a little help from her friends.

That’s how Kumanyika, an epidemiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, came to convene AACORN–the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network. All of the scholars tapped for AACORN are African American and female; all are doctorate-holding faculty members at U.S. universities or research institutions; and all are actively engaged in research with African-American populations.

“The women who are members of AACORN are people that I’ve worked with directly or have mentored in some way,” says Kumanyika who formed the group in 2002 with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. While she admits that the all-female makeup of the group was a coincidence, Kumanyika adds she wanted AACORN “to be a group that would bond and come up with a common mission and vision and be able to have a critical mass.”

Expertise and interests within AACORN covers a broad spectrum of content areas, from community health, nutritional epidemiology and public health nutrition to dietetics, gender studies, exercise science and cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention.

AACORN clearly has the potential to allow its members to enhance their careers and expand research opportunities, but Kumanyika will serve as the conduit for requests for referrals or consultants that AACORN members receive.

She notes she is determined to protect their identities and serve as a buffer between the researchers and the onslaught of requests they would probably receive to serve as consultants on other people’s grants.

“There are very few African-American researchers working on obesity, and there seem to be relatively few Latino researchers,” says Kumanyika. “People keep coming back to me because I’m the only one they can find, (though) I give out Yvonne Bronner’s name (the director of the Public Health Program at Morgan State University), who has done some work in this area, too.”

The research the scholars are doing in nutrition, physical activity and obesity in the African-American community is not in competition with work at their respective institutions, Kumanyika points out. “Everything that they do, I try to make it have some academic capital for them back home at their institutions.”

While AACORN’s aim is to build a critical mass of African-American researchers in the field of obesity, the network is also reaching out to other scholars doing research in the African-American community. Kumanyika invited 40 to 50 scholars, from a variety of fields and backgrounds to attend the group’s second annual meeting in Atlanta, which this year was titled “Achieving Healthy Weight in African-American Communities.”

“(We) took a very interdisciplinary look at weight issues in the Black community, which allowed us to bring together people from outside the box for obesity research,” says Kumanyika. “There were people from transcultural psychology, philosophy, literature.”

For members of the network, it was an opportunity to “learn more about African-American communities and perspectives as a context for thinking about weight issues … Our aim is to generate a set of recommendations for how we can do research differently,” rather than simply studying “the problem.”

In addition to the two CDC-sponsored meetings under its belt, AACORN members stay connected by e-mail and with the help of monthly conference calls also hosted by the CDC. Once a more formal operational and funding base is in place, Kumanyika says the network will step up efforts to engage other established and interested scholars in training.

The AACORN model is one that Kumanyika would like to see replicated to benefit other African-American scholars.

Says Kumanyika: “All of our members are interested in how obesity and obesity-related research can be better formulated given that they have a Black experience and research training. This is what is unique about the AACORN model. Our model is a way of giving people a reference group.”