In the days following the FDA's announcement of the new deeming regulations, the public reaction on Twitter was largely negative. Public health advocates should consider using social media outlets to better communicate the policy's intentions, reach and potential impact for public good to create a more balanced conversation.

This study aimed to determine the medical cost impact and return on investment (ROI) of a large, commercial, digital, weightmanagement intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) program (Real Appeal). Methods: Participants in this program were compared with a control group matched by age, sex, geographic region, health risk, baseline medical costs, and chronic conditions. Medical costs were defined as the total amount paid for all medical expenses, inclusive of both the insurers' and the study participants' responsibility. Results: In the 3 years following program registration, the intentto-treat (ITT) cohort had significantly lower medical expenditures than the matched controls, with an average of −$771 or 12% lower costs (P = 0.002). Among 4,790 ITT participants, a total savings of $3,693,090 compared with total program costs of $1,639,961 translated into a 2.3:1 ROI. Program completers (n = 3,990), who attended more sessions than the overall ITT group, had greater mean weight loss (−4.4%), greater cost savings (−$956 or 14%), and an ROI of 2.0:1 over the 3-year time frame compared with matched controls. Conclusions: The findings demonstrated that the digital weightmanagement ILI was associated with a significantly positive ROI. Employers and payers willing to cover the cost of an ILI that produces both weight loss and demonstrated cost benefits can improve health and save money for their population with overweight or obesity.

ObjectivesThis study examines whether belief in the food addiction construct is associated with support for obesity-related policies (e.g., restrictions on foods served in schools and workplace cafeterias, subsidies on fruits and vegetables), while simultaneously examining other factors associated with policy support (e.g., political party affiliation).DesignCross-sectional.SettingOnline Community.Participants200 individuals were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk.MeasurementsParticipants (n = 193) responded to three questions about belief in food addiction and a measure evaluating support for 13 obesity-related policy initiatives. Individuals also completed the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale (mYFAS), self-reported height and weight, and provided demographic information (age, gender, race, political party affiliation).ResultsBelief in food addiction was significantly associated with greater support for obesity-related initiatives, even when accounting for the significant associations of age, gender, and political party. Belief in food addiction and political party both had moderate effect sizes for predicting support for obesity-related policy. There was an interaction between age and belief in food addiction, with significant associations with policy support for both younger and older individuals, though the effect was larger for younger participants.ConclusionThe current study provides evidence that belief in food addiction is associated with increased obesity-related policy support, comparable to the influence of one’s political party. Growing evidence for the role of an addictive process in obesity may have important implications for public support of obesity-related policy initiatives.

No abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity in children is a public health crisis in the United States. Although evidence-based interventions have been developed, such programs are difficult to access. Dissemination of evidence-based pediatric weight management interventions (PWMIs) to families from diverse low-income communities is the primary objective of the CDC Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD) projects.Methods: The goal of the Rhode Island CORD 3.0 project is to adapt the evidence-based PWMI, JOIN for ME, for delivery among diverse families from low-income backgrounds and to test it in a hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial design in which the aims are to examine implementation and patient-centered outcomes. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 years with BMI ‡85th percentile and a caregiver will be recruited through two settings, a federally qualified health center, which serves as a patient-centered medical home, or low-income housing. Dyads will receive a remotely delivered group-based intervention that is 10 months in duration and includes 16 weekly sessions, followed by 4 biweekly and 4 monthly meetings. Assessments of child and caregiver weight status and child health-related quality of life will be conducted at baseline, and at 4 and 10 months after the start of intervention. Implementation outcomes assessing intervention acceptability, adoption, feasibility, fidelity, and penetration/reach will be collected to inform subsequent dissemination.Conclusions: If the adapted version of the JOIN for ME intervention can be successfully implemented and is shown to be effective, this project will provide a model for a scalable PWMI for families from low-income backgrounds.ClinicalTrials.gov no. NCT04647760.