U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
NIH Office of the Director (OD) <https://www.nih.gov/icd/od>
For Immediate Release: Friday, December 1, 2017
CONTACT: Deborah Langer, 301-827-5575, <e-mail:langerdh@xxxxxxxxxx>
MEDIA ADVISORY
NIH TO CONVENE WORKSHOP ON METHODS FOR EVALUATING NATURAL EXPERIMENTS IN OBESITY
WHAT
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will convene a Pathways to Prevention Workshop <https://prevention.nih.gov/P2PObesity> to assess the available scientific evidence and to better understand relevant, high-quality natural experiment research designs in the field of obesity prevention and control. An independent panel will identify research gaps and future research priorities. The workshop will seek to clarify:
-- What population-based data sources have been used in studies of how programs, policies, or built environment changes affect or are associated with obesity prevention and control outcomes?
-- What methods have been used to link different population-based data sources?
-- What obesity measures, dietary and physical behaviors, and other outcomes have been assessed in studies of how programs, policies, or built environment changes affect or are associated with obesity prevention and control?
-- Which experimental and non-experimental methods have been used in studies of how programs, policies, or built environment changes affect or are associated with obesity prevention and control outcomes?
-- What are the risks of bias in studies of how programs, policies, or built environment changes affect or are associated with obesity prevention and control outcomes?
-- What methodological/analytic advances (e.g., data system features, approaches to linking data sources, or analytic methods) would help to strengthen efforts to estimate the effect of programs, policies, or built environment changes on obesity prevention and control?
This workshop is free and open to the public. To register <https://prevention.nih.gov/P2P-obesity-reg>, and for additional information, visit the ODP website <https://prevention.nih.gov/P2PObesity>.
WHEN
Tuesday, Dec. 5 from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST, and on Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 8:15 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. EST.
WHERE
Natcher Conference Center (Building 45) on the NIH main campus, Bethesda, Maryland.
WHY
Obesity is a major contributor to serious health conditions and diseases in children and adults. The prevalence of obesity in the United States and globally has grown rapidly in the last three decades; thus, there is a pressing need to help people achieve and maintain healthy diets, more physical activity, and a healthy weight.
In 2008, the medical costs in the United States for individuals with obesity <https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html> were $1,429 higher than for those with normal weight, resulting in an estimated annual medical cost of $147 billion (CDC <https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html>). Major gaps exist in our understanding of appropriate and effective societal and systems changes to achieve a healthier energy balance for individuals. Studies of natural experiments can allow insights into the effects that programs, interventions, or policies have on health-related outcomes including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
The workshop is sponsored by the NIH Office of Disease Prevention (ODP <https://prevention.nih.gov/>), National Cancer Institute (NCI)< https://www.cancer.gov/>, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) <https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/>, and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) <https://www.niddk.nih.gov/>.
CONTACT
Please contact Deborah Langer in the NIH Office of Disease Prevention at 301-827-5575 or <langerdh@xxxxxxxxxx>.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for the NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices that are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout the NIH. Additional information is available at <http://www.nih.gov/icd/od>.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit <www.nih.gov>.
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