AACE/ACE Consensus Conference on Obesity: Building an Evidence Base for Comprehensive Action

The AACE Board of Directors declared obesity a disease state in July 2011, and AACE was the primary sponsor of the resolution adopted by the American Medical Association House of Delegates in June 2013, officially recognizing obesity as a disease. The goal of this consensus conference is to achieve a consensus that will provide the framework for an evidence base for anti-obesity action that will lead to a new medical care model and public health model.

AACE has identified four key “pillars” of support to reach its objective of “creating an evidence base for comprehensive anti-obesity action by all stakeholders.” The pillars of support are Biomedical, Government/Regulatory, Health Industry/Economics, and Society/Education/Research. Pillar participants will address specific questions from their organization's perspective during a panel discussion. The questions are:

1) What is obesity? 2) What options are available for obesity management? 3) What is the optimal use of therapeutic modalities? 4) Can the optimal framework be cost effective? 5) What are the knowledge gaps and how they can be filled?

At the conclusion of the conference, a consensus statement will be drafted, reviewed, and approved by a committee of obesity experts and presented at a press conference.