Prevention Conference VII Obesity, a Worldwide Epidemic Related to Heart Disease and Stroke: Executive Summary

TLDR: On April 27 and 28, 2002, the American Heart Association sponsored a scientific conference, “Obesity, a Worldwide Epidemic related to Heart Disease and Stroke,” in Honolulu, Hawaii, to develop a plan to reduce cardiovascular diseases associated with overweight and obesity.

Abstract: On April 27 and 28, 2002, the American Heart Association (AHA) sponsored a scientific conference, “Obesity, a Worldwide Epidemic Related to Heart Disease and Stroke,” in Honolulu, Hawaii. The purpose of the conference was to develop a plan to reduce cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) associated with overweight and obesity. This report discusses the activities of the 4 working groups held before the conference, presentations at the conference, and extensive discussions among working group members after the conference. The primary objectives of this meeting were to The major findings of each working group are presented in this Executive Summary of the conference proceedings. The complete conference report with references is available online at http://www.circulationaha.org in the November 2, 2004, issue of Circulation . The prevalence of obesity is increasing in virtually all populations and age groups worldwide. Although this increase is most evident in the United States, it is not limited to the more developed, affluent nations of the world. The escalation in obesity rates reflects the upward shift in body weights of individual populations in response to environmental changes. BMI, or weight in kilograms per square meter of height (kg/m2), generally is accepted as a convenient measurement that provides a crude indication of body fat. The classifications of normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9), overweight (BMI 25.0 to 29.9), and obesity (BMI >30.0) are somewhat arbitrary but are based on international analyses of the health impact of different BMIs. By using approaches similar to those used for birth cohort trends in cholesterol …