Louisiana Fit Kids Blog

Understanding Childhood Obesity Webinar - Wednesday, April 6, 2022

3/16/2022

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BATON ROUGE, La. - April 4-10, 2022 is National Public Health Week. This year’s theme, Public Health Is Where You Are, celebrates what we know is true: The places where we are, physically, mentally and societally, affect our health and our lives. As we celebrate National Public Health Week, we want everyone to know they can make their communities healthier and safer for all. As we slowly move back toward gathering in person, we’re focusing not just on what we can do as individuals, but what we can do as communities to protect and prioritize public health.

"Childhood obesity remains one of the greatest challenges to public health we face. Louisiana leads the nation in childhood obesity, and the COVID pandemic has accelerated the increases we have been observing over the last several decades. Concerted action will be required to turn this tide," according to Peter Katzmarzyk, PhD, Professor and Associate Executive Director for Population and Public Health Sciences at Pennington Biomedical.

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Louisiana Fit Kids Webinar Agenda Page Two Graphic

The Louisiana Department of Education and Pennington Biomedical Research Center are helping educators and families better understand childhood obesity. Louisiana Fit Kids, a partnership between the Department and Pennington Biomedical, is hosting a free webinar series for teachers, school administrators, guidance counselors, child nutrition program professionals and other interested stakeholders. The third webinar in the Understanding Childhood Obesity Series will take place Wednesday, April 6th from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Online Registration is Now Open.

The webinar will feature a panel of experts. Pooja Tandon, MD from Seattle Children's Hospital will discuss the role of early childhood education centers in promoting healthy habits in preschool children. Leanne Redman, PhD and Amanda Staiano, PhD from Pennington Biomedical Research Center will discuss prenatal influences on childhood obesity, treatment of childhood obesity in medical settings and opportunities for intervention. Peter Katzmarzyk, PhD will moderate the webinar and lead a discussion where audience members have the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.

According to John Dupre, State Director of Child Nutrition Programs for the Louisiana Department of Education. "Encouraging children to eat school meals both in early childcare settings and in K-12 schools is one of the best things parents can do to combat obesity in their children. The USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs provide wholesome and nutritious meals to children each school day. The meals align with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to provide appropriate levels of key nutrients for children."

The webinar series is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

About the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. The Center conducts basic, clinical, and population research and architected the "Obecity, USA" awareness and advocacy campaign to help solve the obesity epidemic by 2040. The Center is affiliated with Louisiana State University. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes over 480 employees within a network of 40 clinics and research laboratories, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Its scientists and physician/scientists are supported by research trainees, lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and other support personnel. Pennington Biomedical is located in state-of-the-art research facilities on a 222-acre campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information, see Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

For more information, contact louisianafitkids@pbrc.edu.