Wild Bird Influenza Survey, Canada, 2005

Of 4,268 wild ducks sampled in Canada in 2005, real-time reverse transcriptase–PCR detected influenza A matrix protein (M1) gene sequence in 37% and H5 gene sequence in 5%. Mallards accounted for 61% of samples, 73% of M1-positive ducks, and 90% of H5-positive ducks. Ducks hatched in 2005 accounted for 80% of the sample

Projected Cost-Effectiveness And Long-Term Savings Of Bright Bodies Pediatric Weight Management Program

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness and impact on 10-year health care expenditure of Bright Bodies (BB), a high-intensity, family-based pediatric weight management program. In a randomized control trial (RCT), BB demonstrated the greatest magnitude of mean reduction in body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents with obesity among U.S.-based interventions evaluated in the 2017 U.S. Preventive Task Force Report. STUDY DESIGN: We developed a discrete event simulation model to project 10-year BMI trajectories of children ages 8-16 with obesity (BMI \u3e 95th percentile for age and sex), using National Longitudinal Survey data and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts to determine BMI cut-off points. We validated the model using data from the BB RCT. We used this model to estimate the average cost per BMI unit reduction of the BB intervention compared to a clinical control that represented the status quo. Costs were estimated in 2020 US dollars from a health system perspective and included expenses to implement BB. The major cost items included staff time (dietitian, exercise physiologist, and social worker), exercise equipment, and medical consultation. We used results from two prior studies using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data to estimate annual individual obesity-related medical expenditures. POPULATION STUDIED: Children ages 8-16 with obesity (BMI [kg/m2] \u3e 95th percentile for age and sex) enrolled in BB or the clinical control during the RCT. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Over the 10-year simulation horizon, the overall cost of the 24-month duration of the Bright Bodies intervention was $1,517 (95$1,505, $1,530) per person, the total cost for the same duration of the clinical control was$1,377 (95% UI: $1,366,$1,388) per person, and the expected savings in obesity-related health care expenditures was $83 (95$49, $124) per person. The incremental effect of BB compared to control was a 0.66 kg/m2 (95$211 (95% CI: $193,$230) compared to clinical control. CONCLUSIONS: Bright Bodies was effective in reducing BMI at a marginally higher cost per person compared with the clinical control. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY OR PRACTICE: Nearly 1 in 5 children have obesity in the United States. Effective interventions for the treatment of obesity in childhood can potentially lower the percentage of today’s children that will have obesity at age 35, which is projected at 57% in a recent simulation study. Our findings add to the existing research on the potential cost-effectiveness and long-term health care expenditure savings of weight management programs for children and adolescents with obesity

The COVID-19, Obesity, and Food Insecurity Syndemic

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To introduce and provide evidence for the new Syndemic of COVID-19, Obesity, and Food Insecurity and propose strategies for mitigating its impact, particularly among vulnerable populations. RECENT FINDINGS: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated obesity, food insecurity, and the existing inequities in the essential workforce. Food insecurity is driven by unsustainable dietary patterns and is associated with higher rates of obesity, which increases the risk of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the essential food supply chain workforce. Strengthening the social safety net and expanding worker protections will increase food security and secure livelihoods during and beyond the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic. Strengthening local and regional food systems provides a common solution to both the new Syndemic of COVID-19, Obesity, and Food Insecurity and the Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change by promoting sustainable food production and consumption, and prioritizing the food supply chain workforce

How Can We Act to Mitigate the Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change?

Purpose of Review: The goal of this manuscript is to identify dietary and active transport strategies that reduce greenhouse gases and obesity, and thereby mitigate the effects of climate change on crop yields and micronutrient content. Recent Findings: This report builds on our earlier publication that described the Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change. We focus here on the contributions that the USA makes to the Global Syndemic and the policy solutions necessary to reduce the effects of the transport and food and agriculture systems on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. Summary: A recent study suggests that people are interested and ready to address local solutions to climate change. Changing the individual behaviors that sustain the US transport and food and agriculture systems is the first step to the broader engagement necessary to build the political will that to achieve institutional, municipal, state, and federal policy

Cost-Effectiveness and Long-Term Savings of the Bright Bodies Intervention for Childhood Obesity

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cost and cost-effectiveness of Bright Bodies, a high-intensity, family-based intervention demonstrated to improve BMI among children with obesity in a randomized controlled trial. METHODS: We developed a microsimulation model to project 10-year BMI trajectories of 8-16 year-old children with obesity using data from National Longitudinal Surveys and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts and validated the model using data from the Bright Bodies trial and a follow-up study. We used the trial data to estimate the average reduction in BMI per person-year over 10 years and the incremental costs of Bright Bodies, compared with traditional clinical weight management (control), from a health system perspective in 2020 US dollars. Using results from studies of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, we projected long-term obesity-related medical expenditure. RESULTS: In the primary analysis, assuming depreciating effects post-intervention, Bright Bodies is expected to achieve an average reduction in BMI of 1.67 kg/m (95% Uncertainty Interval: 1.43-1.94) per person-year over 10 years compared with control. The incremental intervention cost of Bright Bodies was $360 ($292-$421) per person compared with the clinical control. However, savings in obesity-related health care expenditure offset these costs and the expected cost-savings of Bright Bodies is$1,126 ($689-$1,693) per person over 10-years. The projected time to achieving cost savings compared with clinical control was 3.58 (2.63-5.17) years. CONCLUSIONS: While resource-intensive, our findings suggest Bright Bodies is cost-saving compared with clinical control by averting future obesity-related health care costs among children with obesity