More than 35 leading U.S. healthcare organizations have joined together to form National Obesity Care Week (NOCW), an annual campaign to advance a comprehensive, compassionate and personalized approach to treating obesity as a disease. NOCW kicked off yesterday and runs through November 7, with the inaugural event calling upon healthcare professionals, patients and policymakers to “Change the Way We Care” for obesity for the benefit of those individuals living with obesity.

“No one organization is capable of reaching all the individuals affected by obesity and single-handedly transforming care in America,” said Francesca Dea, CAE, Executive Director of The Obesity Society (TOS). “It takes a collective effort to achieve significant change and we are thrilled with the overwhelming level of support for our inaugural initiative. By working together, our collective voice is stronger and we can achieve great things.”

Led by founding partners (all American Board of Obesity Medicine partner organizations), The Obesity Society (TOS), the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), NOCW coincides with ObesityWeek 2015.

Specifically, the campaign focuses on improving healthcare professionals’ understanding of obesity as a disease and knowledge of the full spectrum of evidence-based medical strategies.

National Obesity Care Week is employing a multi-tiered approach, including broad public awareness, healthcare professional education and influencer engagement.

“The ABOM community of physicians is already at the forefront of changing the way healthcare professionals treat obesity,” said ABOM Executive Director Dana Brittan. “As an organization, we are excited to see so many ABOM partner organizations turn their attention to raising awareness about the positive impact healthcare professionals can make in this important effort.”