Shape Up America!'s Diabesity™ Conference -- March 24-25, 2001
The Contributions of Diet and Inactivity to Diabesity™ in America: An Agenda for Action
Old Town Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 625 First Street, Alexandria, Virginia
General Information
U.S. government data shows that obesity afflicts 22% of adult Americans nationwide, but an even higher proportion of African American and Hispanic populations suffer from the negative effects of obesity. What is most alarming, children and teens are developing Type 2 diabetes as a consequence of the growing prevalence of obesity in these age groups. The occurrence of this disease is being documented in children for the first time in our nation’s history. There are 16 million people with diabetes in America – most of them have Type 2 diabetes as a consequence of a combination of poor diet and inactivity. In fact, most people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. The Shape Up America! Diabesity™ public health initiative is a direct response to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) documenting the increased prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in America.
Shape Up America! is launching the first phase of its new Diabesity™ Initiative in March 2001. We plan to hold a weekend conference in Washington, DC to address the growing prevalence of “diabesity” or obesity induced diabetes, in all age groups, but especially in children. As part of this initiative, we are planning to gather the latest scientific thinking on the link between obesity and Type 2 diabetes. We will assemble an outstanding panel of scientific speakers to address the relative contribution of both activity and diet in the etiology, prevention and treatment of diabesity. We will also do a qualitative assessment of health care professionals who treat pediatric Type 2 diabetes and plan to interview groups of physicians who treat the afflicted children and to report our findings at the conference. We will be focusing on minority populations, especially African Americans and Hispanics.
At the conference, our goal is to gather science-based recommendations for action. Thus, a primary outcome of the conference will be the development of communication action plans for media, parents and educators, health care professionals, researchers and policymakers. For this purpose, we are partnering with the Washington, DC office of Hill and Knowlton in the planning and implementation of this conference.
***This Activity has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 12.25 Prescribed credit hours by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
***This program has been reviewed and is approved for a maximum of 12.25 hours of clinical Category I (Pre-approved) CME credit by the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Physician assistants should claim only those hours actually spent participating in the CME activity.
***The conference has been approved for a total of 12 Continuing Professional Education Credits (CPEs) by the American Dietetic Association: Saturday, March 24th has been approved for 8 CPEs and Sunday, March 25th has been approved for 4 CPEs. The forms that must be signed by registered dieticians and registered dietetic technicians will be in the registration area at the close of sessions.
***Contact hours have been applied for with the Virginia Nurses Association.
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