Conference Highlights

AOA's 3rd annual conference, Obesity: The Public Policy Conference, was held on November 8-9, 2001 at the Georgetown University Conference Center in Washington, D.C.

Conference highlights included:

• A comprehensive look at child and adolescent obesity including causes, prevention, treatment, eating disorders, school-based interventions, reimbursement for treatment, and parent-child interaction.
• A new study on stigma and childhood obesity.
  
• A comparison study on the health consequences of obesity with smoking, poverty and alcoholism, by Roland Sturm, Ph.D. of the RAND Corporation.
  
• The problem of obesity in the military, including recruitment and readiness, based on a forthcoming study from the National Academy of Sciences.
  
• The introduction of the American Obesity Association Research Foundation.

Agenda

Thursday, November 8, 2001
7:30 a.m.	Welcome
7:30 a.m.	Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m.	Welcome / Introduction
8:45 a.m.	Introducing the American Obesity Association Research Foundation Judith S. Stern, Sc.D., R.D. - Clinical Nutrition Research Program Director, University of California, Davis and AOA Vice President
9:30 a.m.	Obesity, The Year in Review Richard L. Atkinson, Jr. M.D. - Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin at Madison and AOA President
9: 50 a.m.	Status Report: Obesity and Public Policy Morgan Downey, J.D. - Executive Director, American Obesity Association
10:10 a.m.	How Obesity Compares to Other Health Risks Roland Sturm, Ph.D. - Senior Economist, RAND Corporation
10:30 a.m.	Panel Discussion
10:50 a.m.	Break
11:15 a.m.	Causes of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity Sue Y.S. Kimm, M.D., M.P.H., S.M. - Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
11: 40 a.m.	Stigma and Childhood Obesity Janet D. Latner, M.S. - Clinician, Rutgers Eating Disorders Clinic
12:00 p.m.	The Prevention of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity through School-Based Intervention Steven L. Gortmaker, Ph.D. - Senior Lecturer, Department of Health and Social Behavior, Harvard School of Public Health
12:20 p.m.	Panel Discussion
1:00 p.m.	Lunch
2:30 p.m.	Eating Disorders and Obesity in Children and Adolescents Susan Z. Yanovski, M.D. - Director, Obesity and Eating Disorders Program and Executive Director of the National Task Force on Prevention and Treatment of Obesity at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
2:50 p.m.	Reimbursement for Treatment of Children and Adolescents Andrew M. Tershakovec, M.D. - Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
3:10 p.m.	Parent - Child Interaction on Eating, Weight and Physical Activity Karen Miller-Kovach, M.B.A, M.S., R.D. - Chief Scientist and General Manager of Research and Development, Weight Watchers International, Inc.
3:30 p.m.	Break
4:00 p.m.	Reducing the Risk of Obesity in Public Schools Cathy Nonas, M.S., R.D., C.D.E - Director, Theodore B. VanItallie Center for Nutrition and Weight Management, New York Obesity Center at St. Luke's - Roosevelt Hospital Center
4:20 p.m.	Panel Discussion
5:00 p.m.	Reception
Friday, November 9, 2001
8:45 a.m.	Keynote II
9:20 a.m.	Developments in Obesity Treatment for Children and Adults A. Drugs and Dietary Supplements Steven Heymsfield, M.D. - Deputy Director, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital's Obesity Research Center B. Behavioral and Pharmacological Treatment of Adolescent Obesity Robert Berkowitz, M.D. - Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
10:00 a.m.	Developing an Agenda for Prevention & Treatment of Child & Adolescent Obesity William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D. - Director, Centers for Disease Control's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity / National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
10:20 a.m.	Panel Discussion
10:40 a.m.	Break
11:00 a.m.	Reimbursement for Obesity Treatment - Private Programs A. Managed Care Models [in cooperation with the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP)] Carol McPhillips-Tangum - Prudential Center for Health Care Research & AAHP member B. Employer Models Timothy McDonald, M.H.S.A. - Manager, Corporate Health Promotion General Motors Corporation
11:40 a.m.	Panel Discussion
12:00 p.m.	Lunch
1:00 p.m.	Poster Presentations
2:30 p.m.	Consumer Protection and the Weight Loss Industry Jodie Bernstein - Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau / Federal Trade Commission
2:50 p.m.	The Military and Obesity Richard L. Atkinson, M.D. - Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin at Madison
3:10 p.m.	Panel Discussion
3:30 p.m.	Break
3:50 p.m.	Developments in Surgical Treatment of Obesity Walter Pories, M.D. - Professor of Surgery & Biochemistry, East Carolina University School of Medicine
4:10 p.m.	Discussion of Obesity Public Policy Action Plan
5:00 p.m.	Adjournment