Arizona Obesity Organization

Every Arizonan with obesity deserves evidence-based treatment — and coverage to receive it.

AOO is a coalition of obesity medicine clinicians, advocates, and allies working to change the policy, payer, and political landscape that determines who gets care in Arizona.

Find your section Read the white paper

The state of obesity in Arizona

Why we exist

38%

of Arizona adults live with obesity or preobesity

$X B

annual cost of untreated obesity to Arizona

FDA-approved AOMs covered under standard AZ Medicaid

specialists on the AOO governing board, statewide

Source data: CDC BRFSS 2024, GlobalData 2024, AHCCCS coverage policy. Full citations in the AOO white paper.

Get involved

Four ways to be part of this

Whether you treat obesity, advocate for coverage, live with the disease, or fund the work — there's a place for you here.

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For Clinicians

To equip every Arizona clinician with the tools, education, and network to treat obesity as the chronic disease it is — or to refer with confidence.

AOO membership unlocks the Resource Library: Prior Auth Pathway PDF, Payer PA Criteria Tracker, AOM Coverage Tracker, documentation templates, and free CME events. Join the largest network of obesity medicine clinicians in Arizona.

Become a member

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Advocacy

To make obesity a treated condition in Arizona — by changing the policy, payer, and political landscape that determines who gets care.

Our flagship white paper — The Cost of Inaction: Obesity in Arizona — makes the economic and clinical case for coverage. Partner with us on advocacy initiatives, coalition work, or educational programs.

Read the white paper Partner with AOO

♥

For Patients & Allies

To stand with every Arizonan affected by obesity — and to make the case that this is a disease deserving of evidence-based treatment, not stigma.

Anyone can join the movement. Receive advocacy alerts, understand what coverage you should be entitled to, and help us push for change at the legislator, payer, and employer levels.

Join the movement

Support AOO

To fuel the policy, education, and coalition work that no single clinic, payer, or pharma company will fund alone.

AOO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Tax-deductible donations support the white paper, the clinician Resource Library, advocacy campaigns, and free CME events for Arizona providers.

Donate

Flagship advocacy work

The Cost of Inaction: Obesity in Arizona

A comprehensive policy paper making the economic, clinical, and human case for evidence-based obesity care coverage in Arizona's Medicaid program and beyond.

Built on 98 peer-reviewed sources spanning epidemiology, clinical outcomes, economic modeling, and policy analysis — and structured to give legislators, payers, and employers the evidence base they need to act.

Download the white paper Read the executive summary

White Paper · 2026

The Cost of Inaction: Obesity in Arizona

98 sources · 6 sections · Updated April 2026

"Arizona's failure to cover evidence-based obesity treatment under standard Medicaid is not a budget decision — it is a transfer of cost from prevention to chronic disease management, paid in both dollars and years of life."

Epidemiology & Disease Burden
Economic Impact & Cost of Inaction
Clinical Outcomes of Treatment
Policy & Coverage Landscape
Pathways Forward

Governance & leadership

The AOO Governing Board

A statewide coalition of obesity medicine physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, dietitians, and public health leaders — volunteering their expertise to drive change in Arizona.