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A
new political campaign group has been launched in the USA to demand more
government action to improve disease prevention measures including action
on obesity.
The
Congressional
Prevention Coalition (CPC) was unveiled at a press conference in Washington
D.C. to announce their call for more spending on prevention. Senator John
Chafee (pictured), Senator Bob Graham and Congressmen Jim Leach and Jim
Moran are all co-chairs of the group.
Coinciding
with the launch,
health campaign group Shape Up America!
ran a Body Mass Index Screening Fair which attracted more than 700
visitors, mainly Capitol Hill legislative staff, and included subjecting
politicians including former US presidents to close scrutiny to reveal
their BMIs.
 Shape
UP! America founder, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (pictured)
who recently attacked the New England Medical Journal for "trivialising"
obesity (see below), addressed the launch. Popular fitness expert Denise
Austin also took part in the "kick off' for the new caucus.
Organizations
which took part in the campaign launch included the American Heart Association,
the American Cancer Society, the American Obesity Association, Partnership
for Prevention, Shape Up America!, American Diabetes Association, American
Institute for Cancer Research, the Air Force Nutrition Committee, TOPS
(Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the Arthritis Foundation, and Hoffman-La Roche
Inc.
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