Obesity Society Announces New President, Robert Kushner, MD

Oct. 21, 2008 Silver Spring, MD – At the organization’s annual scientific meeting, held in Phoenix, AZ, October 3-7, 2008, The Obesity Society, the leading professional and scientific organization dedicated to the study of obesity, named Robert Kushner, MD, an internationally renowned obesity expert, as its new president.

Dr. Kushner is clinical director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity in Chicago, professor of medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, author of over 140 scientific articles on obesity and nutrition, on the editorial board for Obesity, Obesity Management, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and Today’s Diet & Nutrition, editor of the American Medical Association’s Obesity Primer for Physicians, author of Counseling Overweight Adults: The Lifestyle Patterns Approach and Toolkit (recently published by the American Dietetic Association) and Medical Director of the Diet.com Premium Membership Program.

"We are facing a national and global obesity epidemic that is stressing our medical and healthcare systems," said Kushner. "As the leading professional society in the fight against obesity, our members are providing the research, clinical care, and advocacy needed during this challenging time. Our mission is to better understand, prevent and treat obesity and improve the lives of those affected."

Kushner will serve for the term 2008-2009 and succeeds Gary Foster, PhD, professor of medicine and public health at Temple University’s College of Health Professions and School of Medicine.

The Obesity Society (www.obesity.org) is the leading scientific organization dedicated to the study of obesity. Since 1982, The Obesity Society has committed to encouraging research on the causes and treatment of obesity, and to keeping the medical community and public informed of new advances. The Obesity Society’s vision is to be the leader in understanding, preventing and treating obesity and in improving the lives of those affected. The Obesity Society’s membership reached 2000 basic and clinical researchers, who have published extensively, and care providers in obesity treatment and prevention.