Protecting the Future of our Children
January 23-26, 2007
Anaheim Marriott Hotel

Conference Tracks

Family Track
It is important to include family members when promoting healthy eating and physical activity in children. This is especially challenging given the busy lifestyles of today’s families. This track will offer proven strategies for engaging families in positive feeding interactions, promoting family meals, and supporting healthy eating and physical activity in children from infancy to preschool years to adolescence. Speakers will focus on family-based strategies with a special emphasis on low-income and culturally diverse populations.

Healthcare Track
Healthcare has a critical role in the prevention and treatment of overweight in low-income children.   Two mini-plenary sessions will focus on the challenging topics of healthcare economics and directions in healthcare policy with respect to childhood obesity. Four workshops will present provocative and useful information for: improving the quality of pediatric overweight care; effective evidence-based prevention and treatment models; along with examples of practical and sustainable childhood obesity healthcare collaboratives. Participants in these sessions will gain useful knowledge and strategies for their practices and programs.

Research Track
The research track will provide the latest infor-mation from physiological and epidemiologic research, and will help participants strengthen their skills for evaluating prevention programs. Speakers will: share the implications of the Institute of Medicine reports on environmental approaches to preventing childhood overweight; highlight trends in childhood overweight and its determinants; and discuss early origins of overweight. Sessions will focus on both the latest research and evaluation findings, and the implications of these findings for policy and programs.

School and Preschool Track
School and preschool programs offer impor-tant opportunities to support healthy eating and physical activity for children. Each session in this track will focus on promising strategies and programs, along with the challenges and constraints facing obesity prevention efforts in schools and childcare settings, including relevant laws and regulations. Sessions will include information on programs supporting low-income families, as well as successful efforts to develop nutrition and physical activity policies.

Community Track
The community track will provide in-depth and useful information on preventing childhood obesity by addressing policy and environmental changes in low-income, culturally diverse communities. Participants will learn about: new coalitions and partner-ships; emerging trends and how to address changing demographics; the impact of community design on physical activity and healthy food; how to use existing laws and zoning; and how to improve advocacy skills.

Marketing Track
This track will explore the role that marketing plays in the promotion of poor food choices and sedentary behaviors in children and youth. Participants will learn how marketing influences health behaviors. They will also consider the role that different segments of society can play in limiting marketing that promotes poor health choices, and in supporting marketing that promotes healthier meal options and physical activity for children and youth. Special emphasis will be placed on low-income populations.