Wednesday, May 7, 2003

WRITER/CONTACT: Denise H. Horton, 706-542-8014, dhorton@uga.edu

CHILDREN’S WEIGHT RESULTS TO BE RELEASED AT UGA SYMPOSIUM

ATHENS, Ga.— Results of the first study to document the percentage of Georgia’s children who are overweight will be released Friday, May 16, as part of the University of Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute’s 2nd Annual Spring Symposium.

The three-day symposium, titled "The Obesity/Diabetes Link: Mechanism to Intervention in Minority and Underserved Populations," will begin Wednesday, May 14. Featured speakers will include Dr. David Satcher, director of the Morehouse School of Medicine’s National Center for Primary Care as well as the former U.S. Surgeon General, and Gov. Sonny Perdue. Dr. Satcher will serve as keynote speaker on May 14; Governor Perdue will close the symposium on May 16.

Richard Lewis, professor of foods and nutrition in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences, has conducted the children’s weight study in partnership with the Georgia Department of Community Health, the Georgia Department of Human Resources and the Georgia Center for Obesity and Related Disorders. He will announce his findings at 9 a.m., May 16, at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education on the UGA campus.

During the past 18 months, Lewis and his colleagues have weighed and measured more than 3,000 students in the fourth, eighth and 11th grades in 10 counties throughout the state. Based on the ratio of weight for height, a body mass index was established for each child. Students also completed a questionnaire regarding their nutrition and physical activity patterns.

"These measurements allow us to determine the weight status of each child," Lewis explained. "We have identified whether a child is at risk of being underweight, if their weight is normal, or if they’re at risk for becoming overweight."

Earlier studies have used telephone interviews with parents and self-reporting by children to determine the rates of overweight. Lewis’ study is the first to actually take weight and measurements to determine these rates. Based on the results, programs and interventions can be developed by state and local leaders to decrease the number of children who are overweight or underweight and encourage healthier lifestyles.

Children who are overweight are at risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease and Type II diabetes, health conditions that were once considered adult diseases. National studies have
shown that more than 15 percent of children between the ages of six and 19 are overweight, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has stated that obesity throughout the nation has risen to an epidemic rate during the past 20 years.

Other highlights of the symposium will include talks on behavioral interventions for obesity and diabetes by Delia Smith West of the University of Alabama at Birmingham; an exploration of the role of genes in the racial and ethnic disparities in obesity and diabetes-related traits by Jose Fernandez, also of UAB; and the link between fat metabolism and insulin secretion by Dr. Barbara Corkey of Boston University School of Medicine.

The BHSI hosts a symposium every year focused on a health-related topic of particular relevance to Georgia. In 2004, the Spring symposium will take place in Savannah and showcase regional research efforts in "emerging infectious diseases."

For a complete schedule of the conference, visit www.biomed.uga.edu/obesity_agenda.html.

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