NEWS

Epidemic of obesity subject of Public Health Grand Rounds broadcast

CHAPEL HILL -- A panel of public health experts will discuss "The Epidemic of Obesity: Personal Choice or Environmental Consequence?" during a 2 p.m. June 7 live broadcast of the latest installment of the Public Health Grand Rounds.

The discussion, a co-production of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be available by webcast and satellite broadcast.

National statistics indicate that 60 percent of Americans are overweight.  "The epidemic of obesity is occurring in front of our eyes," said program panelist Dr. William Dietz, director of the CDC’s division of nutrition and physical activity. "How we control this epidemic poses one of the most formidable public health challenges for the foreseeable future."

Patterned after medical grand rounds, the free, one-hour program will be structured around a pre-taped case study of San Antonio, a city that has established physical activity and good nutrition as priorities.

"San Antonio is on the right track to show our country the way to work together at the community level to attack the obesity epidemic," said program presenter Dr. Hugh Tilson, clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy at the UNC School of Public Health.

Other program participants are scheduled to include Dr. Bill Roper, dean of the UNC School of Public Health; Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, vice president for academic health affairs at the Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory University; and Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika, professor of epidemiology and associate dean of health promotion and disease prevention at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The program is specifically aimed at professionals involved in public health, civic leadership, management and health care, although the public is invited to participate. Participants will have the opportunity to submit questions to the panel during the discussion at interactive satellite conference sites, by fax or online.

Since its inception in 1999, the Public Health Grand Rounds series has covered emerging issues of importance to the public health community and the people it serves such as bioterrorism, disaster preparedness, asthma, genetics, breast cancer screening, West Nile virus, urban sprawl and food safety.

To register for the program or identify a downlink site location or site for individual viewing, click on www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.edu.

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North Carolina Institute for Public Health contacts: Lisa Morris at (919) 843-9261 or lamorris@email.unc.edu and Bev Holt at (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu

School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz at (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu

News Services contact: Deb Saine at (919) 962-8415