HPVC

Program Overview

The management of chronic obesity requires both weight loss and weight-loss maintenance. While even modest weight loss is often sufficient to ameliorate the comorbid risk factors of obesity, weight-loss maintenance is critical to sustain these effects. Lifestyle modification, including diet, exercise, and behavioral therapy, comprises the cornerstone of obesity management and is essential to successful weight loss and maintenance. If therapeutic lifestyle changes are unsuccessful in achieving desired weight loss, pharmacotherapy is frequently initiated as an adjunct to lifestyle interventions; the combination of these approaches has demonstrated additive effects on weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction in patients with obesity.

The endocannabinoid system—an important target for the pharmacologic management of obesity—is involved in the neuromodulation of various aspects of eating behavior, metabolism, and energy expenditure. Modulation of the endocannabinoid system represents a promising approach to achieving durable weight loss in obese patients.

This symposium will review the evolving obesity landscape and the importance of integrating lifestyle modification and pharmacotherapy to optimize obesity management. Clinical trial data with current and emerging pharmacotherapies for the management of chronic obesity will be presented.

Educational Objectives

After attending this symposium, participants should be better able to:

• Implement a comprehensive plan that best integrates behavioral strategies and pharmacotherapy to achieve successful weight loss and weight-loss maintenance

• Discuss the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating energy metabolism and body weight

• Evaluate clinical trial data with current and emerging pharmacologic therapies for obesity
  

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians and other health care providers interested in learning more about long-term management options for obesity.

Accreditation Statement

SciMed is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation

SciMed designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM.

Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Faculty Disclosure

All faculty participating in continuing education activities sponsored by SciMed are required to disclose to the audience any real or apparent commercial financial affiliations related to the content of their presentations and materials.

Activity Chairperson

Thomas A. Wadden, PhD
Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Director, Center for Weight and Eating Disorders
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Faculty

Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College
Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Director, Comprehensive Weight Control Program
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
New York, New York

James O. Hill, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine
Director, Center for Human Nutrition
University of Colorado Denver
Denver, Colorado

Stephen C. Woods, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Obesity Research Center
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Cincinnati, Ohio