GSA Policy Profile: The State of Obesity Care: Better Policies for Older Adults

A chronic and often untreated disease, obesity has emerged over the past half century as a major source of morbidity and mortality in the United States and many other countries worldwide. Despite the recognition of obesity as a chronic disease, public policies limit access to a full range of obesity care services for many individuals who would benefit from comprehensive, interdisciplinary care for their disease—including older adults. In fact, within the Medicare population, reimbursements are available for intensive behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling provided by primary care physicians and for bariatric surgery. This GSA Policy Profile episode provides listeners with major policy initiatives currently being sought for comprehensive obesity care, addresses barriers to implementation of these initiatives, and provides valuable insights into how we care encourage policymakers to make addressing obesity a priority.

Additional resources: H.R. 1577 – Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2021 S. 596 – Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2021

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Guest: Joe Nadglowski—President/CEO, Obesity Action Coalition.

Host: Patricia M. "Trish" D'Antonio, BSPharm, MS, MBA, BCGP—Vice President, Policy and Professional Affairs, The Gerontological Society of America.

This podcast episode is supported by Novo Nordisk and was developed by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).