The Conference
This is the fourth annual childhood obesity and public health conference to be held at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Childhood obesity is fast becoming the greatest public health challenge facing America. Indeed, the First Lady, Michelle Obama recently began an aggressive national campaign to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.

At the national level, Healthy People 2020 provides a set of objectives for improving health and eliminating health disparities. This public health conference will bring together local, national and international experts on the topic of developing public health goals for improving the health of children in the State of Louisiana, with a special emphasis on physical activity, nutrition and obesity-related behaviors. Feedback on a draft of the 2011 Louisiana Report Card on Physical Activity and Health for Children and Youth will be solicited from conference attendees, which will be incorporated into the final version of the report card, to be released subsequent to the conference.

Learning Objectives
The participants in this conference will be able to:

• comprehend the extent of the problem of childhood obesity in both the nation and in the State of Louisiana
• identify national public health objectives as detailed in Healthy People 2020
  
• suggest public health goals for childhood obesity for the State of Louisiana
  
• identify strategies to achieve demonstrable improvements in obesity-related behaviors
  

Who Should Attend?
This conference is designed for professionals engaged in public health efforts, including: physicians, nutritionists, physical activity specialists, registered dietitians, nurses, health educators, psychologists, and counselors; healthcare policy makers, researchers, media, business and civic leaders, parks and recreation personnel, and early childhood and school-age educators and decision-makers.