Public policy, from medication access to new federal initiatives, has a significant impact on healthcare and the lives of people living with chronic conditions. Track 6: Policy and Public Health at ObesityWeek 2026 will examine the origins of various policies, including the amount of scientific evidence behind decisions, and how they influence obesity prevention and people living with obesity.
These policies touch all of us in different ways, but they affect all of us.
— Anna Grummon, PhD, MSPH
“Whenever we read the news, we might take a step back and wonder about these policies. This track—these symposia, Key Lectures, and the oral presentations—will help you learn more about the different topics that are so present in our day-to-day lives and in the news,” said the track co-chair, Anna Grummon, PhD, MSPH. “These policies touch all of us in different ways, but they affect all of us.”
New Dietary Guidelines, GLP-1-targeted medications, and the federal 2025 “Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment” report are a few of the featured topics in this year’s track lineup.
“There are a lot of policy decisions that go into our health, and it’s important that we elevate the role that policymakers have in shaping our health,” said the track chair, Joshua Petimar, ScD. “It will create a nice well-roundedness for the conference to talk about that alongside all the exciting clinical interventions, basic science developments, and new epidemiology insights.”
“The new Dietary Guidelines represented a big shift for a lot of people, so we’ll dive into what they mean,” Dr. Grummon said. “Likewise, we’ll have a session on insurance coverage for obesity medications, which is another part of the obesity medicine landscape that’s changing really quickly with the effectiveness of GLP-1s. A lot of people are thinking about how we can get GLP-1 medications into the hands of more people who need them and want to use them.”
“It’s been a big issue nationwide, as we’ve seen different insurers respond very differently to trends in GLP-1 use and prescriptions,” Dr. Petimar said.
A morning symposium on Nov. 17 will outline recent federal health initiatives and discuss policy issues on food additives, diet quality, and environmental contaminants as they relate to childhood obesity. Speakers in Unpacking the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report will share insights into how emerging evidence and policy action are affecting children’s health.
There are a lot of policy decisions that go into our health, and it’s important that we elevate the role that policymakers have in shaping our health.
— Joshua Petimar, ScD
“Unpacking this strategy report will be really interesting and timely,” Dr. Grummon said. “We’ll focus on how this movement came to be, what parts of the report are relevant for obesity prevention, and what some of the strategies recommended in the report mean for policymakers and practitioners.”
View the full ObesityWeek conference program at obesityweek.org. Symposium, plenary, key lecture, and oral session recordings will be available as part of ObesityWeek OnDemand beginning late January 2027. Purchase ObesityWeek OnDemand through conference registration by Nov. 17.
Complete Listing of Sessions for Track 6: Policy and Public Health
All listed times are in ET. All room locations are in the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Events listed with an asterisk (*) signify that the event is cross-listed with other ObesityWeek® 2026 program tracks. Listing is current as of Oct. 15, 2026.
