By Daily Press staff
Overeaters Anonymous is holding meetings for youths up to age 18 to combat the nation’s increasing weight problem. OA meetings are held every Monday from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the UnUrban Coffeehouse at 331 W. Pico Blvd.
OA is a nonprofit 12-step fellowship patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous. It offers a three-fold recovery program focused on the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the disease of compulsive overeating.
Officials said the program is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology or religious doctrine, and there are no dues or fees. Members are pushed to abstain from compulsive overeating and help others to do the same.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are nearly twice as many overweight children and almost three times as many overweight adolescents today than there were in 1980.
There are roughly 80 different OA meetings in the Los Angeles area for people of all ages. For more information, go to www.oalaintergroup.org, www.oa.org, or call (323) 653-7652. For specific information on the Monday meetings held at the UnUrban Coffeehouse call (310) 392-1130.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.