Childhood Obesity: An Epidemic of a Thousand Paper Cuts

Location

Milken Institute School of Public Health 
950 New Hampshire Ave NW
Executive Case Conference Room, 7th Floor
Washington DC, 20052

Event Description

Presenters: 
Professor Bill Dietz, Director, STOP Obesity Alliance, Milken Institute School of Public Health
Professor Andrew Rundle, Co-Director, Built Environment and Health (BEH) Research Group, Columbia University

Dicussion: 
Since 1980, obesity rates in the US among teens ages 12 to 19 has quadrupled, from 5% to 20.6%. Childhood obesity alone is estimated to cost $14 billion annually in direct health expenses and this is only getting worse. There are clear racial and geographical disparities as well: 25.8% of Latino children and 22% of Black children are considered obese compared to 14.1% among non-Hispanic Whites, while 90% states with the highest obesity rates are in the South (90% of the states with the lowest rates are in the West or Northeast). Unlike the diffuse impact of Climate Change, Childhood Obesity has an identifiable and measurable impact directly on those affected. It is a crisis too close to home to ignore.

Is this epidemic caused by public policy priorities? Cultural shifts in entertainment? The food industry? Socio-economical forces? Consumerism? Join us as experts Dr. Dietz and Dr. Rundle characterize this epidemic and trace its root to its many causes. 

Networking, drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will begin at 6:00pm. The lectures begin at 6:30pm. This presentation and discussion will also be live-streamed at youtube.com/gwpublichealth.