Institute of Medicine Knihy

One-third of adults are now obese, and children's obesity rates have climbed from 5 to 17 percent in the past 30 years. The causes of the nation's obesity epidemic are multi-factorial, having much more to do with the absence of sidewalks and the limited availability of healthy and affordable foods than a lack of personal responsibility. The broad societal changes that are needed to prevent obesity will inevitably affect activity and eating environments and settings for all ages. Many aspects of the obesity problem have been identified and discussed; however, there has not been complete agreement on what needs to be done to accelerate progress.Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention reviews previous studies and their recommendations and presents five key recommendations to accelerate meaningful change on a societal level during the next decade. The report suggests recommendations and strategies that, independently, can accelerate progress, but urges a systems approach of many strategies working in concert to maximize progress in accelerating obesity prevention.The recommendations in Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention include major reforms in access to and opportunities for physical activity; widespread reductions in the availability of unhealthy foods and beverages and increases in access to healthier options at affordable, competitive prices; an overhaul of the messages that surround Americans through marketing and education with respect to physical activity and food consumption; expansion of the obesity prevention support structure provided by health care providers, insurers, and employers; and schools as a major national focal point for obesity prevention. The report calls on all individuals, organizations, agencies, and sectors that do or can influence physical activity and nutrition environments to assess and begin to act on their potential roles as leaders in obesity prevention

In 2009, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a committee to examine three topics in relation to public health: measurement, the law, and funding. The Committee was asked to prepare three reports - one on each topic - that contained actionable recommendations for public health agencies and other stakeholders that have roles in the health of the U.S. population. This report is second in the series --

This volume reports on discussions among multiple stakeholders about ways they might help transform health care in the United States. The U.S. healthcare system consists of a complex network of decentralized and loosely associated organizations, services, relationships, and participants. Each of the healthcare system's component sectors--patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare delivery organizations, healthcare product developers, clinical investigators and evaluators, regulators, insurers, employers and employees, and individuals involved in information technology--conducts activities that support a common goal: to improve patient health and wellbeing. Implicit in this goal is the commitment of each stakeholder group to contribute to the evidence base for health care, that is, to assist with the development and application of information about the efficacy, safety, effectiveness, value, and appropriateness of the health care delivered

The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Lectures 2004: Perspectives on the Prevention of Childhood Obesity in Children and Youth (2006)

The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are quantitative estimates of nutrient intakes to be used for planning and assessing diets for apparently healthy people. This volume is the second of two reports in the DRI series aimed at providing specific guidance on the appropriate uses of the DRIs. The first report provided guidance on appropriate methods for using DRIs in dietary assessment. This volume builds on the statistical foundations of the assessment report to provide specific guidance on how to use the appropriate DRIs in planning diets for individuals and for groups.Dietary planning, whether for an individual or a group, involves developing a diet that is nutritionally adequate without being excessive. The planning goal for individuals is to achieve recommended and adequate nutrient intakes using food-based guides. For group planning, the report presents a new approach based on considering the entire distribution of usual nutrient intakes rather than focusing on the mean intake of the group. The report stresses that dietary planning using the DRIs is a cyclical activity that involves assessment, planning, implementation, and reassessment.Nutrition and public health researchers, dietitians and nutritionists responsible for the education of the next generation of practitioners, and government professionals involved in the development and implementation of national diet and health assessments, public education efforts and food assistance programs will find this volume indispensable for setting intake goals for individuals and groups

Congress asked the Institute of Medicine to find out whether various health care programs were ignoring the homeless or delivering care to them inefficiently. This book is the report prepared by a committee of experts who examined these problems through visits to city slums and impoverished rural areas.

Based on the comprehensive collection and interpretation of available data, IOM s second World Migration Report presents one of the most complete records of reference data and background analysis on population movements. Published in June 2003, this report is organized around the core theme of migration management. Policy responses to specific migration issues are discussed in a series of essays with varying geographical and thematic focus. Preceding the thematic section, a general section introduces the reader to the basics of international migration issues and provides regional updates on trends that have occurred since the publication of the previous report. Maps and graphs and a separate statistics section support the updates on migration trends and policies. With contributions from internationally renowned practitioners and scholars in the area of migration, the report provides a critical analysis of the current state and policy implications of international migration.