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Presidential
Hopeful Bill Richardson
Declares,
“Obesity
is a Disease and Not a
Behavior.”
On September
19th, six representatives from Democratic presidential
campaigns and three representatives from Republican
presidential campaigns gathered at
George
Washington
University to discuss
what the next president of the
United
States should do
to curb the current obesity epidemic. The event, which
was sponsored by the STOP Obesity Alliance, the Obesity
Society, and George Washington’s
School of
Public
Health and Health
Services, was the first time a Presidential candidate
discussion had been held exclusively on the topic of
Obesity. The highlights of the forum included opening
remarks by Peter Orzag, the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office, a keynote by Governor Bill
Richardson (D-NM), and discussions among campaign staff,
scientists, and journalists.
In his
keynote address, Governor Richardson addressed the
importance of obesity directly stating that the next
President must take a prominent and public role in
helping people to understand that, “obesity is a disease
and not a behavior.” He added that he
was supportive of changes to legislation such as the
Americans with Disabilities Act that would make
discrimination against people who are overweight or
obese a civil rights issue.
In a similar
vain, former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), who was not
able to attend or send campaign staff, sent a letter
stating that we, as a country, must do all we can to
reverse this epidemic since obesity is, “a disease with
staggering social and economic consequences.”
Although all
candidates were invited to attend the forum, Governor
Bill Richardson was the only candidate to attend in
person, while 9 campaigns sent a representative in lieu
of the candidate. Each
representative had a few minutes for opening remarks and
then responded to questions from those in
attendance.
The vast majority of speakers used the
opportunity to highlight their candidates’ overarching
healthcare proposals and emphasize how they would
address prevention and treatment of chronic conditions.
Themes among
the Democratic campaigns included achieving universal
access to health insurance, increased emphasis on
preventative care, lowering health care costs, and
improving the school environment including increasing
physical education and decreasing access to unhealthy
foods. Republican themes
focused on fixing the market so that it can better
respond to individuals’ needs for appropriate health
care plans, expanding and improving Health Savings
Accounts, and supporting states and localities in
promoting healthier environments and improved access to
care.
A list of
participants is included below. Additional information
including full transcripts, slides, and a webcast of the
entire event can be found at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=2353.
Democratic
Advisor Roundtable:
Pat Johnson,
Legislative Aid
to Senator Joe Biden,
Jr.
Laurie
Rubiner, Legislative
Director, Senator Hillary
Clinton
Barbara
Markham Smith, Chris Dodd for
President
The
Honorable David Bonior, Campaign Manager,
John Edwards for President
Dr. Dora
Hughes, Health
Policy Advisor to Senator Barack
Obama
Sarah Dash,
Health Policy Advisor, Bill Richardson for
President
Republican
Presidential Advisors Roundtable:
Don Moran,
Healthcare
Advisor, Rudy Giuliani for
President
Douglas
Holtz-Eakin, Policy Director,
John McCain 2008 Lanhee Chen, Domestic Policy
Director, Mitt Romney for President |
