CPHN/UW-COR Summits & Forums

Achieve Better Health with Nutrient Rich Foods Symposium
March 17, 2009

The American Society for Nutrition, Center for Public Health Nutrition and School Nutrition Association co-hosted this symposium in Washington, D.C. to bring leading researchers, communications experts and food organizations together to discuss a nutrient rich foods approach to nutrition education and communication.
Symposium Highlights (pdf)

Child Care and Obesity Policy Forum
October 2007

The University of Washington Human Services Policy Center and Center for Obesity Research hosted a forum on child care, childhood obesity, and policy intervention. The forum featured nationally recognized experts on child care and health, nutrition, physical activity, and policy. The goals of the forum were to provide up-to-date information on the ways child care is linked to obesity in children; present evidence about the importance of addressing obesity early in development; and discuss potential changes in programs and policies that can make it easier for preschool children and their families to be physically active, choose healthy foods, and minimize sedentary behaviors.
Presentations & Materials

Washington Smart Screen Time Summit
May 2007

Organized by the Centers for Public Health Nutrition/Exploratory Center for Obesity Research at the University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Health. The goals of this meeting were to provide up-to-date information about the impact of screen time (e.g., TV, videos, DVDs, video games) in childhood and to review existing screen reduction programs. We also gathered input from participants that will lead to a comprehensive and coordinated Washington plan for promoting smart screen use. The target audience for this summit was health professionals, educators, public health practitioners, and childcare providers, from throughout Washington State. Featured speakers included Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, Director of the UW Child Health Institute, and Barbara Brock, PhD, Professor of Recreation Management, Eastern Washington University.
Presentations & Materials

Poverty and Obesity Forum: Disparities in Diet and Health
March 2007

More than 150 researchers, public health practitioners, and community members met to learn about environmental determinants of health and, specifically, the links between socioeconomic variables and obesity and how this information can inform public health practice and policy.
Presentations & Materials

School-Based Nutrition Interventions: Measuring Dietary Intake of Children
March 2006

While obesity prevention efforts at schools have focused on multi-faceted interventions combining changes to the lunchroom, integrated nutrition education programs, improvements to the school lunch and increased parent involvement, evaluating the impacts of these programs can be difficult. Sponsors of policy changes which have driven these efforts seek evidence that they have made a positive impact on student behavior and ultimately, student health. However, the current dearth of validated methods of assessing dietary intake in children has made program evaluation difficult. More than forty attendees involved in school-based nutrition interventions gathered at the University of Washington on March 7, 2006 to hear national experts speak at the ECOR-sponsored workshop School-Based Nutrition Interventions: Measuring Dietary Intake of Children. This dynamic workshop provided attendees with an opportunity to interact with speakers and to develop a systematic framework for aligning their own program intervention goals with appropriate and feasible evaluation methods.
Presentations & Materials

Your Brain on Food: Food Reward and Obesity
February 2006

In addition to providing calories for sustenance, food is a strong natural stimulus to brain areas that mediate motivation and reward. Our brain circuitry has evolved to ensure a drive for eating as a critical survival behavior in both animals and early human civilizations. The symposium, Your Brain on Food: Food Reward and Obesity, was held on February 23, 2006 to increase understanding of the functioning of this circuitry, in order to develop rational new therapeutic and behavioral strategies to modify food intake patterns and perhaps the hedonic value of food itself.
Presentations & Materials

Metabolic Imprinting: Effects of the Maternal Environment on Subsequent "Diabesity" Risk
November 2005

"Genes may load the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger." Maxine Hayes, State Health Officer for the Washington State Department of Health. In line with its goal of integrating the biomedical, public health, and policy aspects of the obesity epidemic, ECOR assembled top researchers for a symposium to share the latest insights from animal and human studies regarding the effects of the maternal and postnatal environment on obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders later in life.
Presentations & Materials

Safe Table Forum: Food and Fitness in Our Schools: Policies, Challenges, and Strategies for Improvement
November 2003

Briefing Papers
Childhood Nutrition & Physical Activity in the Schools: Background Briefing
Inventory of Major School Nutrition & Physical Activity Programs and Initiatives
Presentation
Food and Fitness in Our Schools: Policies, Challenges, and Strategies for Improvement