The Tennessee State University School of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences will convene a team of experts on April 8th to discuss The Influence of Media on Childhood and Adolescent Obesity.
The symposium, which begins at 10:00 a.m., will consist of informal “roundtable” discussions and keynote address. The interactive sessions will allow attendees and experts the opportunity to brainstorm solutions to issues related to obesity, such as chronic diseases, portion distortion, physical fitness and strategies for changing behaviors and overcoming barriers.
“We hope to make our community and students more aware of the detrimental effects of childhood obesity and the multifaceted influences media plays in fostering this epidemic,” said Veronica Oates, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at Tennessee State University and chief organizer of the event.
According to a report by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Tennessee has the 4th highest rate of adult obesity in the nation, at 30.2 percent and the 5th highest of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 36.5 percent.
Dr. Oates hopes this program, which will include various visual examples of media advertisements designed to lure children and adolescents into unhealthy lifestyles, will help parents and concerned adults become more aware of the negative impact that hours spent watching television, surfing the internet and playing video games is having upon the youth.
Jane M. Clary, Ph.D., who spearheads the Mississippi In Motion public campaign, will present on Social Media before the breakout sessions. Specialists from Tennessee State University as well as representatives from the Metropolitan ActionCommittee, Metro Health Department and Meharry Pediatric Department Children’s Healthy Lifestyle Center will lead the interactive sessions. Xylina D. Bean, M.D., Chairperson for the Department of Pediatrics and Distinguished W.K. Kellogg Professor of Pediatrics at Meharry Medical College, will give the keynote address.
Handouts will be available for participants, and lunch will be provided by Whole Foods. The symposium will be held in Room 118 of the James E. Farrell-Fred E. Westbrook Agricultural Research and Extension Complex.
The day of activities is part of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Sciences Week which will be observed at Tennessee State University April 5th -9th., 2010 For more information about the Influence of Media on Childhood and Adolescent Obesity symposium or Food, Agriculture and Consumer Sciences Week, please call (615) 963-1561 or visit www.tnstate.edu/agfacs .
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