2022 Atlanta Board of Trustees Meeting

Whereas people with obesity are at a higher risk for suffering severe complications from COVID-19 including ICU admissions, mechanical ventilation and death 5 ; and Whereas “The prevalence of adult obesity and severe obesity will continue to increase nationwide, with large disparities across states and demographic subgroups;” 6 and Whereas obesity rates in children ages 2-19 continue to increase and obesity is currently estimated to affect 19% of children 7 ; and Whereas the Framingham Heart Study, a famous study for 44 years, estimated that excess body weight (including overweight and obesity), accounted for approximately 26 percent of cases of hypertension in men and 28 percent in women, and for approximately 23 percent of cases of coronary heart disease in men and 15 percent in women. Individuals with obesity have an increase in fatty tissue that increases their vascular resistance and in turn increases the work the heart has to pump blood throughout the body 8 ; and Whereas while the Affordable Care Act requires payment of preventive health care services rated by the United States Preventive Task Force Services (USPSTF) with an “A” or “B” recommendation, and the USPSTF recommends obesity screening and counseling services (evidence grade “B”), 24 states currently have general exclusions for weight/obesity management services and make no mention of obesity screening and counseling services. 9 This represents discriminatory behavior, which is in direct contradiction to established AMA 5 Kompaniyets L, Goodman AB, Belay B, et al. Body mass index and risk for COVID-19-related hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, and death - United States, March - December 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(10):355-361. 6 N Engl J Med 2019; 381:2440-2450. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa1909301 7 https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html accessed 11/18/2019 8 https://www.obesityaction.org/community/article-library/hypertension-and-obesity-how-weight-loss- affects-hypertension/ accessed 11/18/2019 9 https://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/data-resources/ehb.html