UnitedHealth Group Drs. Deneen Vojta and Richard Smith to Address the 25th Anniversary Nobel Peace Prize Forum

http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/8knews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20130307:nBw075143a

* Vojta and Smith to discuss the world`s "diabesity" epidemic at the forum`s new
"Science and Health Day"
* Minneapolis event is the Nobel Institute`s only program or affiliation outside
Norway

MINNETONKA, Minn.--(Business Wire)--
Deneen Vojta, M.D., and Richard Smith, M.D., two of UnitedHealth Group`s leading
chronic disease experts, will address the 25th Anniversary Nobel Peace Prize
Forum, March 8-10 at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

Dr. Vojta, senior vice president of the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform &
Modernization and chief clinical officer of the Diabetes Prevention and Control
Alliance, and Dr. Richard Smith, director of the UnitedHealth Chronic Disease
Initiative, will participate in the forum`s first-ever "Science and Health Day"
Saturday, March 9. Their presentation, "Diabesity: Disease Gone Global," will
consider the "diabesity" dilemma - the clinical and behavioral chain that leads
from childhood obesity to prediabetes to type 2 diabetes - from a global
perspective.

Diabetes is one of the greatest health and economic challenges of the 21st
century, with more than 350 million people worldwide living with the disease, a
figure that is expected to rise to more than 550 million within 20 years,
according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Vojta and Smith will
describe concepts for successful global strategies to address this most pressing
public health and economic crisis, including community-based programs that have
been clinically proven to help prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

"It is a great honor to speak at this year`s 25th Anniversary Nobel Peace Prize
Forum," said Vojta. "The timing of this conference is critical, since the
world`s diabesity epidemic is evolving from a significant public health issue to
one that, if gone unchecked, poses a true threat to global prosperity."

Smith said: "We are grateful for the opportunity to address the Nobel Peace
Prize Forum and help draw attention to a true global pandemic. The prevalence of
prediabetes and diabetes has increased dramatically over the past two decades on
a parallel track with the global increase in obesity and unsustainable
lifestyles."

"We created Science and Health Day because these topics are integral to peace,"
said Dr. Maureen Reed, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. "Good
health exists only under stable conditions. Serious disease and chronic medical
conditions can block economic progress and drain the coffers of even the most
stable regions. We are holding this meeting to help today`s health professionals
understand the global nature of health, disease, peace and conflict."

United Health Foundation is a sponsor of the three-day forum, which has the
distinction of beingthe Norwegian Nobel Institute`s only program or academic
affiliation outside Norway. The forum will feature presentations by Nobel
Laureates Tawakkol Karman and Muhammad Yunus, among other notable figures from
the worlds of global philanthropy, politics, business, health and science.

Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his
efforts to create economic and social development through microcredit, and
Karman was honored as a co-recipient of the 2011 prize recognizing her work
during the Arab Spring. She is the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, only the
second Muslim woman, and the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate to date.

Vojta leads clinical research and development at UnitedHealth Group, identifying
innovative solutions that address global health care challenges and partners to
bring these solutions to scale. Most recently, she spearheaded UnitedHealth
Group`s partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
YMCA of the USA to scale the U.S. National Diabetes Prevention Program, led the
design and study of a scalable child obesity intervention, and partnered with
Comcast to disseminate technology delivering health care in the home through a
reality television version of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a
clinically proven lifestyle change program that can reduce the risk of
developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent in people with prediabetes.

Smith directs the UnitedHealth Chronic Disease Initiative, which works with the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (one of the National Institutes of
Health) to fight heart disease and diabetes through the support of a global
network of 11 Centers of Excellence in developing countries. He formerly served
as a television doctor and was editor of the British Medical Journal.

About the Nobel Peace Prize Forum
The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is a unique civic learning experience. Each year,
this dynamic, global event brings Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, civic leaders and
scholars together with students and other citizens. As the Norwegian Nobel
Institute`s only such program or academic affiliation outside of Norway, the
Nobel Peace Prize Forum has a special mission: to inspire and engage students
and citizens to become full participants in peacemaking efforts around the
world.

The Forum pays homage to Norway`s international peace efforts and offers
opportunities for Nobel Peace Prize laureates, diplomats, scholars and the
general public to share in dialogue on the dynamics of peacemaking and the
underlying causes of conflict and war. The Forum also features the annual Nobel
Peace Prize Festival, a day of programming for youth.

The 2012 Forum was hosted by Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, in partnership
with the University of Minnesota`s Humphrey School for Public Affairs (view the
event pages, including a video archive). The initiative is also sponsored by the
University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, the University of
Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, the University of Minnesota School of
Public Health, the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, Pacific
Lutheran University, the University of St. Thomas, and four Midwestern colleges
of Norwegian heritage (Augustana, Concordia, Luther, and St. Olaf colleges) who
have all hosted the Forum in years past.

The roots of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum are wide and deep. Since the very first
event in 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum`s stimulating array of programs have
involved over 21,000 participants and received national and regional media
coverage. 2013 will mark its 25th anniversary.

About United Health Foundation
Guided by a passion to help people live healthier lives, United Health
Foundation provides helpful information to support decisions that lead to better
health outcomes and healthier communities. The Foundation also supports
activities that expand access to quality health care services for those in
challenging circumstances and partners with others to improve the well-being of
communities. After its establishment by UnitedHealth Group [NYSE: UNH] in 1999
as a not-for-profit, private foundation, the Foundation has committed more than
$200 million to improve health and health care. For additional information,
please visit www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company
dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making health care work
better. With headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a
broad spectrum of products and services through two business platforms:
UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and
Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services.
Through its businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 80 million people
worldwide. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at
www.unitedhealthgroup.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130307005143/en/

UnitedHealth Group
Tyler Mason, 714-226-3530
tyler.mason@uhc.com
or
United Health Foundation
Lauren Mihajlov, 952-936-3068
lauren_mihajlov@uhg.com

Copyright Business Wire 2013