Lincoln City clinics team up with OHSU to target obesity

Thanks to a recently awarded federal research grant, Lincoln City will become one of a select number of communities where new techniques will be attempted to combat the country's obesity epidemic. The Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN) at Oregon Health & Science University is sponsoring the effort through funding by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It will allow researchers from OHSU and communities  - including Lincoln City  - to study their populations and come up with creative solutions to the obesity problem with the goal of promoting lifelong fitness.

According to a 2007 report by the Oregon Department of Human Services, well over half of the state population is overweight or obese. In Lincoln County, almost 40 percent of residents were considered overweight in 2005 with 27 percent being obese.

“This data clearly suggests that we need to try new approaches to target obesity,” said Lyle J. Fagnan, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and director of ORPRN.


The complete OHSU media release available online.

---