Screening: Bay-Area premiere of the critically acclaimed new film Cosuming Kids, followed by a panel discussion. April 24, 2009 at 7:00 PM, UC Berkeley Campus
Upcoming Conferences: Register now for the 2009 California Childhood Obesity Conference, June 9 - 12, 2009, Los Angeles, CA.
Practical Strategies for Managing and Preventing Childhood Obesity: Saturday, September 13, 2008, Monterey, CA. Presented by the Dept of Pediatrics at Stanford Univ School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Sponsored by Stanford Univ School of Medicine.
The California Childhood Obesity Conference is a biennial event. The next conference will be held in January, 2009.
Upcoming Conferences
Save the Date!
2009 Childhood Obesity Conference
Creating Healthy Places for All Children
June 9 - 12, 2009
Los Angeles, CA
The California Department of Public Health; the California Department of Education; and the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Weight and Health invite you to attend the premiere obesity conference in the nation!
The 5th biennial Childhood Obesity Conference is the largest gathering of professionals focused on the prevention of pediatric overweight in the nation with over 1,800 in attendance. The conference is devoted to providing the most pressing and innovative issues related to childhood obesity. Showcased will be presentations focused on issues, strategies and programs as they relate to the environmental, organizational, media advocacy and policy, nutrition and physical activity education, and family and clinical approaches to childhood obesity.
Sponsors include the California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, First 5 California and the Dairy Council of California.
Goals Showcase evidence-based prevention interventions to reduce overweight and obesity in high risk and low income communities
Feature community efforts to implement environmental and policy strategies that promote and sustain healthy eating and activity behaviors
Accelerate the obesity prevention movement to promote health equities and reduce disparities at the local, state and national levels.
Promote collaboration among diverse stakeholders to ensure access to healthy foods and physical activity for all children
Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figureoa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
For a special group rate of $110 single or double occupancy, call The Westin Bonaventure Hotel at (213) 624-1000 or (800) WESTIN-1. Mention the Childhood Obesity Conference.
After May 8, 2009, overnight accommodations are based on availability at the prevailing rate.
Visit the 2007 California Obesity Conference pages : view the conference agenda, topics and speakers, and download available materials presented during the January 2007 conference.
The California Childhood Obesity Conference is a biennial event.
Screening: Bay Area premiere
Please join us for the Bay Area premiere of
the critically acclaimed new film
Consuming Kids
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion
April 24, 2009 at 7:00 PM,
101 Morgan Hall,
UC Berkeley Campus.
(seating is limited; early arrival is suggested)
Admission: free, (donations appreciated)
(event parking suggestion, directions to screening)
(map: full campus)
Consuming Kids is an eye-opening account of the pervasive and pernicious effects of children's advertising on the health and well-being of kids.
The film is produced by the Media Education Foundation and features the CCFC staff and Steering Committee. Consuming Kids zeroes in on the often shocking practices of the multibillion dollar youth marketing industry, exposing how marketers have used the latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and
neuroscience to transform American children into one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world. The film has been earning widespread praise from critics, health care professionals, and children's advocates from around the country.
Mary Pipher, the bestselling author of Reviving Ophelia, called Consuming Kids a "powerful, disturbing and heartbreaking film" that "has the power to change the way we Americans treat our children." Henry Giroux, author of Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture's War on Children, said that it is "one of the best films I have seen in years that explores the various ways in which the identities, values, and future of young people are held hostage to a world shaped by the poisonous culture of consumption and commodification."
The screening will be followed by a discussion featuring two of the film's stars: CCFC director Dr. Susan Linn, author of Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood; and CCFC co-founder Dr. Allen Kanner, co-editor of Psychology and Consumer Culture. CCFC Steering Committee member Michele
Simon, author of Appetite for Profit, will moderate the panel.
Event Co-Sponsors:
Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for
Weight and Health at UC Berkeley
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
Prevention Institute
Shaping Youth
Childhood Matters
Tikkun Magazine
The 2008 California Food Guide (CFG) replaces the 1990 version of the California Daily Food Guide. It is designed for physicians, nurses, nutritionists, academic institutions, registered dieticians, health educators and others to download, print and distribute copies as needed. Compiled primarily by The California Department of Health Care Services and the California Department of Public Health, the 2008 California Food Guide examines the unique needs of age groups, racial and ethnic groups and low-income populations. It details nutrition needs for pregnant and breastfeeding women and gives an insightful look at how nutrition impacts obesity, diabetes and heart disease. There is also information on vegetarian diets, environmental contaminants in foods, food insecurity and other current topics to promote healthy eating habits and physical activity for Californians.
Taking Action Together (TAT) is a YMCA-based program designed to reduce type 2 diabetes risk among low-income overweight African American children, 9-11 years of age. This multi-disciplinary project was developed in collaboration with experts in nutrition, exercise physiology, public health, psychology, medicine, education, and cultural sensitivity. It involved academics and practitioners from numerous universities and community organizations. Sample lessons are available for download.
Nutrition Education in School Food Service Tool Kit
For most children, school is the largest source of meals eaten outside of the home. School food service offers an ideal setting for experiential learning around food for children and for engaging parents in modeling healthy eating habits at home. The goal of the Nutrition Education in School Food Service Tool Kit is to take advantage of the potential of school food service settings to positively influence children’s eating – both at school and at home. The tool kit is designed for use in elementary schools, particularly those serving low-income populations. Activities are included for food service staff to use in school as well as for parents to use at home.
Asian language pamphlets on nutrition and families now available
The risk of obesity among Asian-American children increases the longer they are in the United States. Agencies and heath organizations serving this population have expressed the need for educational materials focused on helping children achieve healthy weights. Materials, currently available as downloads from our website, are written in Cambodian, Lao, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Hmong and English.
Everybody’s Different: A positive approach to teaching about health, puberty, body image, nutrition, self-esteem and obesity prevention
by Dr Jenny O’Dea, past visiting scholar at the Center.
Overweight and body image concerns in children and adolescents are increasing. Overall body dissatisfaction in young people has increased dramatically in the last few decades, with a heightened prevalence of dieting, eating disorders, obsessive exercise and steroid abuse. Everybody’s Different details how to apply a proven self-esteem approach in schools, community settings and clinical situations to improve body image conceptions, prevent eating disorders and obesity, and foster health, nutrition and physical activity in young people. An ideal reference and resource book for anyone working with young people—particularly primary and secondary school teachers and university students—
Potential Impact of Menu Labeling of Fast Foods in California
California, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing an obesity epidemic. Today, nearly 60% of Californians are either overweight or obese. To understand the range of possible consumption and weight outcomes of providing calorie information on menu boards, this analysis explores different assumptions about the percentage of people who frequent fast food restaurants and see calorie information. Americans spend almost half of their food dollars on foods prepared outside the home, and the largest single source of food consumed away from home is fast food. Research shows that consumers are unable to estimate the calories in food accurately, and that even trained nutritionists cannot make accurate estimates without detailed information. Consumers also report using information available on food labels and have expressed interest in readily available calorie information on menus and menu boards. Posting calories would provide visible, easy-to-locate information to consumers and has the potential to reverse the trajectory of the obesity epidemic in California.
