Geisinger to host Obesity Summit

Summit to present unified treatment approach for obese and overweight patients

June 8, 2009, DANVILLE, Pa. – Geisinger Obesity Institute will host its first Obesity Summit on June 11 at the Henry Hood Center for Health Research on the Geisinger Medical Center campus in Danville, Pa. The primary objective of the summit is to bring together experts in clinical practice and the research community to help healthcare providers meet the clinical and psychological needs of their obese and overweight patients.

Summit participants will have the opportunity to offer comments on content presented by keynote speakers.

“It’s our goal to provide healthcare providers with the latest evidence-based treatment approaches as well as research updates that will help them provide for the health of their obese or overweight patients,” says Christopher D. Still, D.O., director of the Geisinger Obesity Institute. “With the alarming increase in obesity and obesity-related diseases that affect obese and overweight children and adults there is a need for a comprehensive approach to prevention, treatment and management of these patients.”

Content for the summit includes tips for motivating patients to embrace physical activity, psychological considerations, guidelines for successful weight less, latest pharmacotherapy strategies, and an update on bench to bedside research approaches.

The objective of Geisinger’s obesity summit is to raise awareness of obesity as a regional and national epidemic and a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The summit is attracting national speakers and attendees who are committed to the fight against obesity. Confirmed speakers include Caroline Apovian, M.D., from the Boston University School of Medicine, Scott Shikora, M.D. from Tufts Medical Center and national obesity policy advocate R. Morgan Downey, J.D., executive director, Health Care Consultancy.

The summit brings together diverse perspectives on the obesity epidemic, including representation from Geisinger Health System, academia, insurance industry, research, and the media. Dr. Still will moderate the summit.

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About Geisinger Health System
Founded in 1915, Geisinger Health System (Danville, PA) is one of the nation’s largest integrated health services organizations.  Serving more than two million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the physician-led organization is at the forefront of the country's rapidly emerging electronic health records movement. Geisinger is comprised of two medical center campuses, three hospitals, a 740-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company and the Henry Hood Center for Health Research—dedicated to creating innovative new models for patient care, satisfaction and clinical outcomes. For more information, visit www.geisinger.org.