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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
Save the Date

AOO Connect

Conversations on Obesity Care & Innovation

Join the Arizona Obesity Organization for an evening of networking, collaboration, expert discussion, and refreshments — bringing together healthcare professionals, policymakers, community partners, and advocates passionate about advancing obesity care across Arizona.

  • Networking with clinicians & advocates
  • Light appetizers and refreshments
  • Q&A with obesity medicine specialists & dietitians
  • Emerging treatment tools & implementation strategies
  • Multidisciplinary obesity management discussion
  • Community partnership & patient care
More details & registration coming soon
AOO Connect — Save the Date. Tuesday, June 16, 2026, 6:30–8:30 PM. Conversations on Obesity Care & Innovation.
Our Mission
"Our vision is that every patient affected by preobesity and obesity in Arizona receives evidence-based treatment and coverage for their care."
— Arizona Obesity Organization · 501(c)(3) · EIN 84-2524149
The state of obesity in Arizona

Why we exist

38%
of Arizona adults live with obesity or preobesity
$11.1B
annual cost of untreated obesity to Arizona
0
FDA-approved AOMs covered under standard AZ Medicaid
11
specialists on the AOO governing board, statewide

Source data: CDC BRFSS 2024, GlobalData 2025, 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.

⚕

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
★

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
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.

Doug Maready, MD

Doug Maready, MD

President

Internal Medicine + Obesity Medicine. Founder, Maready Medical.

Chantelle Lessard-Chaudoin, PA-C

Chantelle Lessard-Chaudoin, PA-C

Vice-President

Family medicine PA. Professor, Franklin Pierce University.

Casey Hilde, PharmD

Casey Hilde, PharmD

Secretary

Pharmacy leader in obesity medicine. Adjunct Professor, U of A.

Kelsey Staudinger, DO

Kelsey Staudinger, DO

Director at Large

Bariatric surgeon, HonorHealth Tempe Medical Center.

Meet the full board (11 members)
Get involved

You don't have to do this work alone.

Clinicians, advocates, patients, donors — there's a place for everyone in AOO. Pick the one that fits you.

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