News & Events

Welcome to Shape Up America!

Founded in 1994, Shape Up America! is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization committed to raising awareness of obesity as a health issue and to providing responsible information on healthy weight management. Take a journey through our website to find information and ideas to achieve a healthy weight for you and your family. If you are a health professional, you will find resources to assist your clients and patients with their efforts to attain and maintain a healthy weight.

Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention

Two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese. Left unchecked, obesity's effects on health, health care costs, and our productivity as a nation will be catastrophic. Former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman chaired an Institute of Medicine committee that formulated a new report that identifies obesity as a primary driver of escalating health care costs and calls upon all sectors of society to prevent and reverse the obesity that is undermining the health of our nation’s children. The IOM's recommendations, when implemented together, could profoundly reshape the environments where people live, learn, work, and play — and stem the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Read more

New Book Announcement

Textbook of Obesity: Biological, Psychological and Cultural Influences edited by Akabas, Lederman and Moore is now available at wiley.com and amazon.com

Severe Obesity: The Neglected Epidemic

Severe obesity (SO) is increasing faster than obesity in adults and in children. Because it is associated with numerous comorbidities, SO accounts for more health care expenditures than any other medical condition. Furthermore, it is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes for mother, fetus, and infant and a high risk of offspring obesity carried into adulthood. Bariatric surgery is the treatment of choice for SO because nonoperative methods fail to provide medically significant durable weight loss and because it is both preventive and therapeutic.

Read the abstract and download the full paper

May Recommendations from Chef Joanna

Easter may be over, but Mother's Day is around the corner and brunch fare is in the air! The naturally warmer weather tends to make lighter food and desserts more attractive. Give our Mother’s Day Brunch recipes a try to make this a special day for your special Mom!

New Infographic on Screen Time Now Available

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative is pleased to announce a new infographic on physical activity: Screen Time vs. Lean Time.

Read the full article

“Breast is Best” — for healthy babies and to protect against obesity

Most scientists agree that breastfeeding is protective against the development of obesity. But breastfeeding is associated with many other benefits for babies including a lower rate of infection, fewer hospitalizations and optimal behavioral development due to improved maternal-infant bonding. Efforts to promote breastfeeding are escalating in the United States and elsewhere around the world.

Read the full article

Capitol Hill Briefing: Environmental and Policy Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Adults With Arthritis

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Washington, DC

Arthritis is the nation’s most common cause of disability and affects 50 million adults in the United States — more than 20 percent of the adult population. While physical activity has been proven to help decrease pain, delay the onset of disability, improve physical functioning and independence, and enhance mood and quality of life, adults with arthritis are not engaging in appropriate levels of physical activity.

The report being released discusses practical strategies to make physical activity more convenient and accessible for adults with arthritis. Shape Up America! is pleased to be working with the Arthritis Foundation on this issue. Please join us for this important event.

Information about this event

An Important Message from
Shape Up America!

Tuesday, January 31 was the deadline set by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive comments on the proposed “regulatory approach” for defining what essential health benefits will be required when the new state health exchanges required under the Affordable Care Act go into effect in 2014.

In response, Shape Up America! and 26 obesity, nutrition, public health, minority health and women's health organizations and experts sent HHS a joint letter urging that the comprehensive treatment for severe obesity — defined as obesity screening, weight management counseling and the option of bariatric surgery followed by appropriate lifelong medical care and nutritional monitoring for the severely obese — be designated as an essential health benefit within the category of chronic disease management.

As the letter clearly documents, severe obesity is no longer rare; it disproportionately affects women and their offspring, minorities and the medically underserved; it is directly linked to severe pregnancy complications, disability and death from type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and other obesity-related chronic diseases; and it consumes a large and growing portion of healthcare expenditures.

The letter spearheaded by Shape Up America! to HHS

UPDATE: Jason will be competing in Ironman Texas on May 19, the first of several major events this year. He has been dedicating more than 20 hours per week to training for this event and is very excited about his prospects.

This fall, Jason will tackle Arizona Ironman, attempting the difficult challenge of two major Ironman event in one year. Best of luck, Jason!

Here in his own words is what he plans to accomplish:

“My goal is to raise $20,000 for Shape Up America! between now and May 19, 2012 which is the day of Ironman Texas. Through my racing of triathlon (70.3 Longhorn October, 70.3 Puerto Rico March, 140.6 Ironman Texas May) I will be covering a total of 281.2 miles between October 2011 and May 2012 and I hope that people will be willing to donate $.05 (5 cents) for each mile I race which totals out to $14. If 1,428 people donate $14, I will have raised $20,000 for Shape Up America and the education of America on the impact of obesity on our society. Essentially, I have 9 months to convince 1,428 people that donating approximately $1.50 per month will benefit our society.

“I am so excited to be racing on behalf of this 501(C)(3) non-profit organization and hope that you will help me spread the word about this undertaking.” — Jason Bahamundi

Make a donation in support of Jason’s goal.

Visit Jason's blog for the latest updates