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Obesity Action Coalition (official site)

The official site of the Obesity Action Coalition, a national patient advocacy nonprofit: education, community support and advocacy resources for people affected by obesity.

Updated Sep 26, 2026Evidence-backed

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) is a national nonprofit for people affected by obesity. It calls itself "the nation's leading voice" for that group and reports more than 85,000 members (OAC: About us (external link)). It's built for patients and families, where a professional society is built for clinicians: plain-language education, community connection, and organized advocacy on access to treatment.

What you'll find there

  • Patient education on obesity as a chronic disease, on treatment options (including anti-obesity medications like GLP-1s), and on how to talk with providers.
  • Advocacy tools: action alerts, template letters, and tracking pages for policy efforts such as the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act and Medicare coverage changes, with ways to contact your legislators.
  • Weight-bias and stigma resources, including guidance for handling stigma in healthcare settings and in the media.
  • Community programs, including its annual convention, where members share experiences with treatment and coverage.
  • A provider locator, ObesityCareProviders.com (external link), for finding clinicians who work in obesity care.

Who it's for

Patients, caregivers, and anyone who wants to get involved in obesity-treatment advocacy, especially if you'd like a coordinated channel for weighing in on policy instead of acting alone (see the role of patient advocacy organizations). For the scientific and clinical side, The Obesity Society is the professional counterpart.

A note on funding

Like most patient advocacy organizations in this space, OAC gets part of its funding from industry sponsors, including GLP-1 manufacturers. Its published Corporate Council lists Eli Lilly among sponsors giving more than $100,000 a year to general operations and Novo Nordisk among those giving $50,000 to $99,999 (OAC Corporate Council (external link)). Its education and advocacy are widely used, but keep the funding in mind when you read its policy positions.

Note: the site blocks some automated tools, so if a link from this page fails to load in a preview, open it directly in your browser.

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Evidence: For & Against

Both sides of the topic, so you can weigh the evidence yourself.

2Supporting

  • About the OAC (external link)

    Obesity Action Coalition · Reporting · Moderate evidence

    (2026)

    Self-description: a 'more than 85,000 member-strong' 501(c)(3) national nonprofit giving a voice to people affected by obesity; describes itself as 'the nation's leading voice' (checked September 2026).

  • ObesityCareProviders.com provider locator (external link)

    Obesity Action Coalition · Reporting · Moderate evidence

    (2026)

    OAC's free locator for clinicians in obesity care, searchable by ZIP code and specialty.

1Mixed findings

  • Corporate Council (external link)

    Obesity Action Coalition · Reporting · Strong evidence

    (2026)

    Published sponsor tiers (checked September 2026): Platinum, more than $100,000 a year to general operations (Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Company); Gold, $50,000 to $99,999 (includes Novo Nordisk, Genentech, Pfizer, Zealand Pharma).

Revision history

Last updated · 3 revisions recorded.

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