Webinar: Understanding Obesity as a Disease
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 | 11 AM - 12 PM CST
About the webinar
This educational program explores obesity as a chronic disease that impacts millions of Americans. Over the past 25 years, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and obesity affects well over 100 million Americans. The disease of obesity also impacts children. In 2017, 17% of American children over 2 are affected by obesity, and 1 in 8 preschoolers has obesity. Obesity also puts Americans at serious risk to develop diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. This educational program discusses the disease of obesity and why obesity rates have increased over the past generation. The program also explores the complex socioeconomic factors that result in obesity disparities that impact demographic and socioeconomic groups. The discussion also lays the groundwork for part 2 of the series that explores obesity disparities and why obesity is more prevalent in communities of color.
Distinguished Speakers
Moderator: Mr. Joseph Gaspero
CEO and Co-Founder, Center for Healthcare Innovation
Joseph Gaspero is the CEO and Co-Founder of CHI. He is a healthcare executive, strategist, and health disparity researcher. He founded CHI in 2009 as an independent, objective, and interdisciplinary research and education institute for reducing health disparities for marginalized communities of color. Joseph leads research and educational initiatives at CHI, including research focused on increasing diversity in clinical trials, building diverse, culturally competent teams, understanding how social determinants of health drive health disparities for BIPOC communities, decreasing medical mistrust, and understanding how chronic conditions disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities. He has been the lead organizer for one of the country’s preeminent health equity and diversity symposia in the U.S. In his role as CEO, he sets and executes CHI’s strategy, devises marketing tactics, leads fundraising efforts, and manages CHI’s Management team. His leadership stems from a wide array of experiences, including founding and operating several non-profit and for-profit organizations, serving in the U.S. Air Force in support of 2 foreign wars. Joseph’s skills include strategy, management, research, marketing, and finance. He has lived in six countries, traveled to over 40 more, and speaks three languages, and he brings a global approach to strategy and problem-solving. Joseph has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. When he’s not immersed in his work at CHI, he spends his time snowboarding backcountry, skydiving, mountain biking, volunteering, engaging in MMA, and rock climbing.
Dr. Ricardo Correa, MD, EdD, FACP
President, Maricopa County Medical Society
Ricardo Correa, M.D., Ed. D., F.A.C.E., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.M.Q. is an Associate Professor of Medicine, the Program Director for Endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism fellowship and the director for diversity in Graduate Medical Education at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Staff Clinician and Researcher at Phoenix V.A.M.C. and health equity fellowship director for the Creighton School of medicine.
He completed his Medical School and master’s in education at The University of Panama. He completed a research fellowship in Epidemiology and Tropical disease at I.C.G.E.S. in Panama City and his internal medicine residency at Jackson Memorial hospital-University of Miami (U.M.) program. In 2012, he was honored with the A.O.A. and GoldDOC Award from the U.M. Then, he pursued his clinical and research fellowship in endocrinology with a particular focus on neuroendocrinology and adrenals at the National Institute of Health.
He is board-certified in Medical Quality. He is the author of the book title “Case report: basics and publication.” and senior Co-Editor of the book “Endocrinology of Aging.” His research focuses on neuroendocrinology, mainly on pituitary and adrenal tumor and health care disparities in diabetes in Latinx populations.
He is dedicated to the community and helps as the co-medical director for an underserved clinic in Phoenix, where he created the endo and diabetes clinic. He also helped screened asylum patients as part of his volunteer work with the 100 Angels group, and he gives lectures and mentors many underrepresented minorities to become part of medicine. Due to all his career, Dr. Correa has been awarded several recognitions, including Presidential Leadership scholar, 100 Hispanic Inspiring Scientist, Medscape Rising Start, N.M.Q.F. 40 under 40, Humanitarian award by Arizona Medical Association AACE Endocrinology Rising Star and many other prestigious national awards.
He enjoyed playing the saxophone, hiking in the Phoenix mountain with the family, and traveling to other countries to learn about the different cultures.
Dr. Linda Gordon, MD, MPH, PMP
Pediatrician, Public Health Professional, Children’s Book Author
Linda is a General Pediatrician with a long history of working with the underserved in rural and urban settings. As well, she has worked in the non-profit and academic sectors as a public health educator. In this regard, her creative use of social media for civic engagement has been a benefit to the local community in the promotion of anti-bullying and anti-obesity campaigns.
In research, she has been a contributor to basic science and clinical investigation. Study subject has included the immunology of HIV, and the clinical effects of hypertension, diabetes, and lead toxicity in children.
Her work with obesity includes community events such as health fairs and healthy cooking seminars in rural Alabama. In addition, patients in rural Georgia were invited to Zumba in the Park, courtesy of grant funding and non-profit support. This is to supplement the daily efforts to encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyle choices in the face of food deserts, inactivity, and poverty which exacerbate obesity for rural and BiPOC populations.
Dr. Uzoma Okeagu PharmD, BCPS
Medical Science Liaison, Novo Nordisk
Uzoma Okeagu is a Medical Science Liaison at Novo Nordisk with over 7 years of experience in clinical and pharmaceutical industry settings. As a native of the Metro Detroit area, he completed his undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Upon graduation, he finished a clinical pharmacy residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, IL. Following completion of his residency, he remained at Sinai Health as a general medicine clinical pharmacist for several years before pursuing a research pharmacist position at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. He has been a Medical Liaison in the field of obesity and weight management at Novo Nordisk since 2019, working in the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Some of his strategic focus areas include providing weight management education to health care practitioners and mid-level providers, supporting development of HER pathways for triaging obese patients, engaging with academic training programs regarding current obesity management curriculum, and standardizing obesity management throughout health systems.
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