Recorded presentation

George R. Flores, MD, MPH, The California Endowment, 101 Second Street, 24th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, 415 343-0222 ext. 4345, gflores@calendow.org, John Cawley, PhD, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, 134 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, Charles Royer, BS, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington, 7900 E. Greenlake Drive, Suite 302, Seattle, PA 98103-4850, and Vivica Kraak, MS, RD, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

The IOM Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth is charged with assessing the nature of obesity in children and youth in the United States and developing a prevention-oriented action plan to reduce its prevalence. The committee is assessing the array of interrelated factors that contribute to childhood obesity and that may play a role in prevention in the short- and long-term. A primary emphasis is placed on behavioral and cultural factors, social constructs that encourage appropriate eating patterns and activity levels, and other broader environmental factors (e.g., schools; advertising and the media; public health infrastructure in communities; community design; physical activity and transportation; neighborhood safety; approaches to build capacity and create healthy communities). IOM committee members will present the report’s findings and recommendations with a focus for this discussion on a range of community-based interventions and population-based approaches.

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