Cuts to CDC's Obesity Prevention Division Threaten Chronic Disease Efforts
The author, a former director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, warns that proposed cuts will undermine evidence-based prevention programs. The division created widely used tools like growth charts and state obesity maps, and funded community initiatives across many states. Without these resources, the fight against obesity and related chronic diseases will be severely hampered.
The division's budget would fall from $54.32 million to $16.5 million under the House's fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill, a reduction of nearly 70 percent. Its surveillance tools include the BMI calculator, used over a million times monthly, and annual state obesity maps that guide prevention targeting. Community programs span 17 states, 50 communities and tribal organizations, and 16 land-grant universities.
A separate June 2025 proposal would relocate DNPAO's chronic disease work into a new Administration for a Healthy America outside the CDC. The Senate has not yet released its funding figure. The author notes GLP-1 medications face cost and access barriers, making prevention programs essential to curb rising obesity rates.
The cuts could weaken the nation's ability to track obesity trends and implement community-level prevention, potentially affecting millions who rely on state health departments for nutrition and physical activity support. Children and families in underserved areas may lose access to programs addressing health disparities. If surveillance tools degrade, policymakers could lose data needed to target interventions, possibly accelerating chronic disease rates among vulnerable populations.