NIH and the Weight of the Nation

View “The Weight of the Nation” at HBO.com

An Emmy-nominated HBO Documentary Films series on obesity, “The Weight of the Nation,” premiered in May 2012. The four-part series — Consequences, Choices, Children in Crisis, and Challenges — highlighted several NIH research advances and addressed the factors contributing to the country’s obesity problem. In May 2013, HBO will air three films for youth and their families entitled “The Weight of the Nation for Kids.”

Together, the films are the centerpiece to a public awareness campaign, which also includes 12 short films, a website and social media, and a nationwide community-based outreach effort using free film discussion guides and other tools. To request a film screening kit, view the films, or find related materials, visit hbo.com/theweightofthenation.

In April 2013, “The Weight of the Nation” collaboration received the HHSinnovates award from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. For more about HHSinnovates: www.hhs.gov/idealab/what-we-do/hhs-innovates/.

NIH weight-control information and research

Health Information

• Weight-control Information Network (en Español)
• Aim for a Healthy Weight
• We Can! Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition (en Español)
• Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator
• National Diabetes Education Program (en Español)
• What I Need To Know About Gestational Diabetes
• Obesity and Cancer Risk
• Media Smart Youth

Didn’t find what you were looking for? See NIH Health Information: Obesity.

Clinical Trials

• NIH Clinical Trials and You
• ClinicalTrials.gov
• ResearchMatch

NIH-Supported Research

• Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research
• Studies featured in the HBO series:
  • The Bogalusa Heart Study
  • The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study
  • Diabetes Prevention Program
  • The Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery
• National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research

Media Contacts

Tel: 301-496-5787
E-mail: nihnmb@mail.nih.gov

NIH Press Release

NIH research featured in HBO documentary series on obesity, April 30, 2012

NIH Director’s Perspective

• Q&A on “The Weight of the Nation” with Dr. Collins

NIH Research Short Film

View a short film about how NIH supports obesity research across the nation, featuring NIH’s Metabolic Clinical Research Unit.

View “Obesity Research and the NIH,” a short film of “The Weight of the Nation” at HBO.com. (10 min, 36 sec)

“The Weight of the Nation” is produced by HBO Documentary Films and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in association with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and in partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

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