The Weight of the Nation: Host a Screening

You're probably familiar with the stats by now: more than two-thirds of American adults ages 20 and over are overweight or obese and nearly one-third of American children are overweight or obese. What are the causes of this epidemic, and what can be done? What can you do in your home, school, workplace, and community to make a difference?

These are some of the questions addressed in The Weight of the Nation documentary series and public awareness campaign. This initiative is produced by HBO and the Institute of Medicine, in association with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

The campaign includes a four-part documentary series premiering May 14 and 15 on HBO, a three-part HBO Family series for kids, 12 short films, a social media initiative, and a nationwide community-based outreach effort to mobilize action to move the Nation to a healthier weight. The films, available in English and Spanish, will stream free on www.HBO.com and may be provided for free by some television carriers.

The films feature NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. In addition, several National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-funded researchers and clinical studies that have formed the basis of scientific evidence on the causes and impact of being overweight or obese are highlighted. These include the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study and the Bogalusa Heart Study.

Learn more about NIH research featured in the HBO project and NIH obesity resources, and view a list of clinical studies that are enrolling participants.

Take Action!

You and your organization can host a screening event in your community. Request a free screening kit to receive the four-part documentary series, 10 bonus shorts, and a robust discussion guide (in English and Spanish) to kick-start conversations about preventing overweight and obesity.

Request a screening kit and learn more about the HBO project.

Practical, evidence-based tools and materials are available to help you take steps to prevent or treat overweight and obesity. These include:

General

• Aim for a Healthy Weight Web site
• We Can!^® Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition
  Web site
• Keep the Beat™ Deliciously Healthy Eating Web site

Popular Tools

• Interactive Menu Planner
• Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
• BMI Calculator App (for iPhone)
• Portion Distortion: Do You Know How Food Portions Have Changed in 20 Years?

Parents

• We Can! Energize Our Families: Parent Program (Curriculum)
• We Can! Parent Tip Sheet: Healthy Families, Healthy Weight (PDF)
• We Can! Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook
• ¡Nosotros Podemos! Familias Encontrando el Balance: Manual para Padres (en español)

Health Care Professionals

• Aim for a Healthy Weight Provider Kit
• Tips to Weight Loss Success Patient Tablet
• Aim for a Healthy Weight: 3 Steps to Initiate Discussion About Weight Management With Your Patients
• Physical Activity: Your Heart, Your Life—A Lay Health Educator's Program/La actividad física: su corazón su vida—un programa para promotores de salud (bilingual English, Spanish)

Other NHLBI and NIH Resources

• NHLBI Health Topic: Overweight and Obesity
• NIH Health Topic: Obesity
• NHLBI Obesity Research
• Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research
• NIH Obesity Research Funding Opportunities
• Update: Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adult
• NIH research featured in HBO documentary series on obesity (NIH news release)
• NIH Clinical Research Trials and You

Join the Conversation!

Stay updated on the events and share your thoughts by following the NHLBI on Twitter and Facebook and by following The Weight of the Nation on Twitter (#weightofthenation) and Facebook.

^® We Can! Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition, We Can!, and the We Can! logos are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
™ Keep the Beat is a trademark of the HHS.