From L to R: USF Board of Trustees, Chair Rhea Law; former Arkansas Governor, Michael Huckabee; and Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the USF College of Medicine.

Video Clip of Summit Highlights

Tampa, Fl. (June 8, 2007) At the University of South Florida and USF Health in Tampa the build-up continues in the arsenal against obesity. Health experts at the ninth largest university in the country and the second largest in the state continue to push for real treatment and prevention in the battle against obesity. Today, university leaders hosted the “Obesity Action Summit” to develop a community-strong agenda to halt the obesity epidemic. Delivering the keynote address to more than 200 invited guests was the former governor of Arkansas, Michael Huckabee. His own personal battle with obesity has made Huckabee an “icon” of personal health - loosing 110 pounds through diet and exercise to cure his diabetes.

"The University of South Florida may just be at the epicenter of this whole movement and changing the culture of health in America", said Huckabee. "What they're (USF Health) doing is not just innovative, it's truly revolutionary. There are perhaps more academics and practitioners of healthy behavior concentrated on this campus than anywhere else in America! That's why people across the country are going to be looking at USF. This is where a lot of the ideas are going to be bubbling from."

From L to R: USF Health Vice President and Dean of the USF College of Medicine, Stephen Klasko; and the summit's keynote speaker, former Arkansas Governor Michael Huckabee.

In his speech peppered by humor and, at times, grim statistics, Huckabee explained his core beliefs on solving the obesity epidemic. He called for an "attitude change" on obesity, much like the cultural shift that occured regarding litering, seatbelts, smoking and drunk driving. What seemed an "un-natural" change years ago, became commonplace. Secondly, Huckabee called for an "atmospheric" change - where physical changes are made in our environments to accomplish the cultural shift or attitude change. And thirdly, Huckabee called for an "action" phase - whereby government officials begin to "codify" changes to make them the norm.

"Politicians don't like to tackle things that can't be fixed in an election cycle, but this requires a generational cycle of thinking", said Huckabee.

The June 8th obesity summit was the brainchild of USF surgeon Dr. Michel Murr, who oversees one of the nation’s busiest academic bariatric surgery centers. Dr.Murr is convinced that reducing the rates of obesity requires a coordinated and supportive community effort, as well as a robust personal commitment from a patient. Playing off Huckabee's decision to field no questions today about his political aspirations, Dr. Murr began his question & answer session by making what sounded like a campaign promise. "In this country, $120 billion a year are spent on obesity. If we used that money instead to hire personal trainers and nutritionists, for example, you could basically hire one for every 300 residents", said Dr. Murr. "So, if I were running for President, that would be a part of my platform!"

"What we've accomplished with sports safety could be a model for nutritional safety for kids in our schools", said Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Medicine Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA. "USF is committed to making a difference."

Obesity in Florida
At least 850,000 Floridians suffer from what’s called “clinically severe obesity” -- where the patient is overweight by 100 pounds or more. More Floridians die from obesity than the dreaded diseases of breast and colon cancer. Obesity’s annual death toll is an estimated 20,000 statewide.

Even at the high school level, the data is grim. Twenty-five per cent of all high school students in Florida are clinically overweight or at risk for obesity. “More than 80 percent of these adolescents will grow into obese adults, therefore compounding the effects of the epidemic," said Dr. Murr as he prepared for the summit. “We really need to work hard and fast to halt this silent epidemic. At USF Health, we are taking a leadership role against obesity, and we call on everyone to come to the table with ideas, resources and without prejudice.”

With at least $4 billion spent each year on obesity in Florida and no notable progress being made at the population level, USF Health experts are creating a new framework for solutions. During the summit in Tampa, USF Health scientists, employers, educators and legislators are forging new partnerships to produce results that could be considered “radical," large scale intervention-prevention.

Economics of Obesity
During today's summit, Eric A. Finkelstein, PhD, an economist specializing in healthcare issues, delivered an eye openning presentation entitled the "Economic Burden of Obesity". Finkelstein, of RTI International, sees obesity as an "economic phenomenon" as much as a health phenomenon. Finkelstein declared that while it was true in the 1930's that obesity was driven by poverty, it is not true today. Citing research studies of minority groups and studies across income levels, Finkelstein said that middle- income African American and Hispanic men are more likely to suffer from obesity than their counterparts in lower income levels. Among children, however, the chances of obesity remain highest within low income families, he said. What explains the trend? Finkelstein told a room filled with health activists and professionals, "We're engineering physical activity out of our environments! So that, in fact, it's becoming more expensive to engage in physical activity." - citing everything from trash cans with lids that don't require manual lifting to a culture of "office email" that keeps us firmly planted in our seats instead of walking a few steps to communicate with a colleague. Another factor: food pricing. While processed foods with added sugars and fats have become cheaper over time, he said, the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store have gone up. Making the healthy choice has become more expensive than the unhealthy alternative.

Obesity Summit - Action Sessions
Panels during the afternoon action sessions of the summit were broken down into four groups - Individual & Family Health, Community Health, Employee Health and Progressive Partnerships . Topics ran the gambit: Making a healthy choice the easy choice, Prevention in adults & children, Prevention-themed insurance coverage for employees, and how to partner with local, regional & federal agencies.

Video clips of Summit coming soon.
Story by: Lissette Campos