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The tour coincides with the theme for SAM's annual meeting: AdolescentObesity: Prevention and Treatment. Members of SAM will discuss how they canhelp create environments for children and adolescents that focus on improvingaccess to affordable healthy foods and provide opportunities for safe physicalactivity in schools and communities. In addition, experts in adolescentobesity will review how current treatment strategies that tackle adolescentobesity (behavioral, pharmacological, and bariatric surgery) can beimplemented.
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According to Dr. Galson, "Today more than 12.5 million children andadolescents 2 to 19 years of age are overweight and are at greater risk fornumerous health consequences such as cardiovascular disease and type 2diabetes. By taking a look at what each of us can do in our lives andcommunities to make ourselves and our families healthier, we can begin totackle this epidemic."
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation, will open the conference and discuss the scope of the adolescentobesity epidemic, its impact on health and on society, and the Robert WoodJohnson Foundation's vision for reversing the epidemic by 2015. Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey is a national leader in transforming America's health systems so youngpeople can live healthier lives and receive the health care they need. InApril of 2007, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation pledged $500 million overthe next five years to combat childhood obesity in the US - the largestcommitment by any foundation to this issue.
The keynote speaker for the conference is Kelly Brownell, PhD, MPH,Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Epidemiology and Public Healthat Yale University and the Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy andObesity. Dr. Brownell is an internationally known expert on weight control. Hehas written 13 books and more than 200 research papers and book chapters, andholds appointments on 10 editorial boards. Dr. Brownell will discussopportunities for addressing obesity clinically, as well as ways for healthprofessionals to become active in changing the broader landscape by arguingfor changes in schools, communities and the nation.
For more information on the meeting, or to arrange an interview, pleasecontact Vaughn I. Rickert, PsyD, at 845-300-3170 or via e-mail [email protected] or Martin Fisher, MD, at 516-457-7296 or via e-mail [email protected]. For more in-depth information about the Society forAdolescent Medicine, visit the SAM website at http://www.adolescenthealth.org
SAM is a multi-disciplinary organization of health professionals who arecommitted to advancing the health and well-being of adolescents. Througheducation, research, clinical services, and advocacy activities, members ofthe Society for Adolescent Medicine strive to enhance public and professionalawareness of adolescent health issues among families, educators, policymakers, youth-serving organizations, students who are considering a healthcareer as well as other health professionals.
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SOURCE Society for Adolescent Medicine
