The Science & Policy of Obesity: Who's policing your plate? May 17, 2008

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a long list of doctors and public health experts, there is an obesity ‘epidemic’ in the United States that is threatening the health of millions of Americans. How bad it is, what is causing this trend and what we do about it is much less clear. In 2006, New York City banned transfats in restaurants and prohibited new fast-food restaurants in poor neighborhoods. The measure was a reaction to perceived aggressive food marketing forces that support obesity. How far should we go to help children and adults make healthier food choices? Are we a society that controls what people eat? Depending on your perspective, viewpoints range from promoting individual choice and promoting educational campaigns to the need for a national science policy for nutrition.

Featured panelists include:
Conan Nolan—moderator
Reporter, NBC4
James A. Levine, MD, Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Bioengineering, Richard Emslander Chair of Nutrition and Metabolism, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Antronette K. (Toni) Yancey, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles
Manal Aboelata, MPH
Program Director, Prevention Institute
J. Justin Wilson
Senior Research Analyst, Center for Consumer Freedom, Washington D.C.
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Official Website: http://california.science.center/GenInfo/NewsAndEvents/SpecialPrograms/ScienceMatters/Obesity/Obesity.php