The Society for Adolescent Medicine is pleased to announce the 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting, "Adolescent Obesity: Prevention and Treatment" to be held at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, North Carolina from Wednesday, March 26 to Saturday, March 29, 2008. Obesity Society members are encouraged to attend the 2008 meeting.

The 2008 Program Committee has put together an exciting program. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be the distinguished speaker to open the Conference. Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey is a national leader in transforming America's health systems so young people can live healthier lives and receive the health care they need. Under Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey's leadership, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has made a significant commitment to addressing the issue of childhood and adolescent obesity.

The keynote speaker is Kelly Brownell, PhD, MPH, Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University and the Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Dr. Brownell has received numerous awards and honors for his work and has published 14 books and more than 300 scientific articles and chapters. In addition, he has advised members of Congress, governors, world health and nutrition organizations, and media leaders on issues of nutrition, obesity, and public policy.

Additionally, three plenary sessions have been convened: the treatment of obesity, prevention of obesity and eating disorders, and global issues in adolescent obesity.

The plenary on Treatment of Obesity will review how current treatment (behavioral, pharmacological, and bariatric surgery) strategies tackling adolescent obesity can be implemented. The symposium will include the following speakers: Robert Berkowitz, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Denise Wilfley, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Weight Management and Eating Disorders Program at Washington University, St. Louis; and Thomas Inge, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics and Surgical Director of the Comprehensive Weight Management Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

The plenary on It's Not All or Nothing: Prevention of Obesity and Eating Disorders will focus on identifying the challenges facing eating disorder and obesity prevention fields and how to address these issues. The plenary speakers will be Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, Professor, Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota; Bryn Austin, ScD, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, at Children's Hospital Boston; and Alison Field, ScD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Staff Scientist Children's Hospital Boston, and Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The plenary on Global Perspectives on Adolescent Health will focus on the emergence of obesity in adolescents residing in the emerging economies of China and India, as immigrants to the West and as Indigenous people across the world. The symposium will be chaired by Kate Steinbeck, MD, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Director of Metabolism and Obesity Services, and Head, Adolescent Medicine Consultancy Service, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Invited symposium speakers include Professor Boyd Swinburn, Chair of Population Health Sciences at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia; Barry Popkin, PhD, Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Director of the University of North Carolina Interdisciplinary Obesity Center, Nutrition Epidemiology Division and the Nutrition Transition Research Program; and Russell Viner MB, PhD, Consultant and Directorate of Adolescent Medicine, University College London Hospitals and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, England.

Additional topics to be addressed by the speakers include the metabolic syndrome in adolescents, the environmental, social and psychological factors, and recommended interventions for the prevention of adolescent obesity. In addition, there will be numerous offerings on a variety of adolescent health issues.

The Society for Adolescent Medicine has been approved by the ACCME to provide CMEs for physicians, by the California Board of Registered Nursing to provide CEUs for nurses, and by the American Psychological Association to provide CEs to psychologists

For more information visit the SAM website at http://www.ado lescenthealth.org or contact: Edie Moore Executive Director, The Society for Adolescent Medicine 1916 NW Copper Oaks Circle Blue Springs, MO 64015

The Institute of Medicine and other key organizations have identified environment and policy changes as the most promising strategies for controlling obesity and improving diet and physical activity. As such, there are now a variety of measures that can be used by researchers and practitioners to plan and evaluate changes to the built environment. The BEAT Institute is designed to train participants to use these measures. The goals of the Institute are as follows:

1. Prepare investigators and practitioners to use both observational and self-report measures of nutrition and activity environments and related behavioral assessments through lectures, fieldwork, hands-on skills, group work, and individual consultation.
   
   
2. Increase the number of professionals qualified to conduct built environment assessments for nutrition and physical activity.

Tuition for this year's Institute is $325, which does not include food, travel, or lodging. Applicants will be notified of selection by February, 18, 2008 and are asked to respond within two weeks of notification. Scholarships are available. Criteria for application selection are listed below:

• Background and skills relevant to the Institute
• Fit with career goals and activities
• Opportunity to use training in future research
• Letters of recommendation
• Diversity of entire pool of applicants - geographic, interest (nutrition v. physical activity), target population of research, racial/ethnic background, etc.

For more information about the Institute, please visit: http://www.sph .emory.edu/BEAT

Funding for the BEAT Institute is through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2007-55215-17924 and is co-sponsored by the CDC-funded Emory Prevention Research Center and the San Diego Prevention Research Center. Planning Committee Members include Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, Jim Sallis, PhD, Brian Saelens, PhD, and Larry Frank, PhD.

The Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group (WMDPG) of the American Dietetic Association will hold its Second Annual DPG Symposium April 4 - 6, 2008 at the Loew's Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. This year's theme is "Weight Management: The Harmony of Science and Practice." Gary Foster will present the keynote address.

Because of a network relationship between the Obesity Society and the WMDPG, TOS members are eligible to attend the symposium at the WMDPG member rate. Early registration is $285 if registration is received before March 3, 2008. For more information and complete program details including registration forms, visit http://www.wmdpg.org. To receive this discount, please mail in the registration form located within the brochure on the WMDPG website (http://www.wmdpg.org) with a copy of your TOS membership card.

For questions or more information about the WMDPG and TOS network, contact Eileen Myers, at 615-330-6669 or eileenmyers@gmail.com

Midwest Region
Melissa C. Nelson, PhD, RD
University of Minnesota

Simone French (University of Minnesota) has recently been appointed as chair of the local planning committee for the ISBNPA (International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity) 2010 Annual Meeting to be held Wednesday, June 9 - Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Minneapolis, MN. The 2008 ISBNPA annual meeting will be held in Banff, Canada, and is currently accepting abstract submissions at ISBNPA's website, http://www.isbnpa.org

Mary Story (University of Minnesota) was inducted into the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center Academy for Excellence in Health Research. Dr. Story is also Director of the RWJF- funded Healthy Eating Research Program, which recently released its Round 3 Call for Proposals. The deadline for brief proposals is Feb. 6, 2008. More information can be found at http://ww w.healthyeatingresearch.org

Nancy Sherwood (University of Minnesota) was recently awarded a grant entitled "The Food, Attitudes, and Body (FAB) Study," funded by University of California-San Diego and Jenny Craig. This research will evaluate the efficacy of two Jenny Craig weight loss programs (in person and phone- based) in comparison to a self-directed weight loss program at four research centers across the country.

Canada
Paul Boisvert, PhD
Universite Laval, Quebec

In December, Andre Marette received the 2007 Charles H. Best Lectureship and Award given every two years by the Physiology department at the University of Toronto. This prestigious award is presented to researchers for their research on diabetes. Previous recipients include Barbara Khan, Luciano Rossetti, and Barbara Corkey.