Borrowing from tobacco control to curtail the overweight and obesity epidemic: Leveraging the U.S. Surgeon General's Report

Abstract

There is broad agreement that more needs to be done to curtail the U.S. overweight and obesity epidemic. Fifty years of regular Surgeon General's Reports on the health consequences of smoking appear to have been a highly effective contributor to the notable successes that have been made in reducing smoking prevalence. Comparing the rate of Surgeon General's Reports on smoking and obesity reveals striking differences, with more than a five-fold lower rate of reporting on the latter. Developing practices that more effectively leverage the power of the U.S. Surgeon General's Office in efforts to reduce obesity is a relatively straightforward but potentially powerful additional step that warrants consideration.