William Dietz
Showing 1–2 of 2 transcripts.
- Milken Institute57 min
Confronting the Obesity and Diabetes Epidemics
William Dietz, Kelly Close, Sean Duffy, Mark Hyman, Joshua Riff, Hugh Waters
This panel addresses the $3.4 trillion annual economic burden of chronic diseases in the U.S., where obesity drives nearly half the costs and disproportionately affects underserved populations through a broken primary care capacity. Experts from organizations like Cleveland Clinic, Omada, and OnDuo demonstrated that community-based food pharmacy models and digital health platforms can dramatically reverse conditions like diabetes and heart failure while reducing costs by up to 80%. To scale these life-saving interventions, the discussion emphasized an urgent need to shift from episodic "sick care" to value-based reimbursement systems that fund "food as medicine" and community health workers.
- Milken Institute52 min
Putting Prevention First
Liz Szabo, Kelly Close, William Dietz, Frank Hu, Anne Schuchat, Hugh Waters, Bill Dietz
Presenting the latest CDC data and Harvard research, this event highlights that nearly 40% of U.S. adults and 20% of children are obese, driving a three-fold increase in chronic diseases and a 7% rise in obesity-related cancers. The discussion details how excess weight gain in young adulthood significantly elevates risks for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death, while costing the U.S. economy $3.4 trillion annually. To address these escalating trends, experts advocate for a strategic shift from individual willpower to systemic interventions targeting young adults, including improved food access, campus wellness programs, and increased federal funding for the CDC.