2002 Public Health Symposium

Concurrent Sessions: The Role of Environment and Policy in Improving Public Health: Reducing Obesity in America

Moderators:

Peter Jacobson, JD, MPH
Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health
William Weissert, PhD
Professor and Chair, Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health

Panelists:

Katherine Alaimo, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist, Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health
Julia Grand, Doctoral student
Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health
Laurance Reynolds, MD
Pediatrician, Mott Children's Health Center, Flint, Michigan
Eugene Feingold, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health

Over the past thirty years, the prevalence of obesity and overweight has greatly increased throughout American society, with especially large increases among children, race/ethnic minorities, and low-income men and women. Many factors lay behind these trends-reduced opportunities for physical activity, the proliferation of low-cost high-calorie fast food and snack products, high-calorie meals and snacks in school and employment settings. This session explores the social, economic, and cultural risk factors for poor nutrition and overweight. More importantly, it explores strategies for families, communities, and policy makers to reverse these trends.

Objectives

Understand recent trends in obesity and overweight in the United States, overall and within vulnerable population groups
Identify the most prominent environmental contributions to these trends
Explore potential policy responses at the local, state, and federal levels that can be implemented to reverse these trends

Participant Profiles

Peter Jacobson, JD, MPH, is associate professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. His current research interests focus on the relationship between law and health care delivery and policy, tobacco control policy, and law and public health. Professor Jacobson has published widely in public health policy and law. His most recent book, Strangers in the Night: Law and Medicine in the Managed Care Era, was published by Oxford University Press in 2002. He was previously Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND corporation. Professor Jacobson holds a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and an MPH in Health Services from the UCLA School of Public Health.

William Weissert, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy. He is one of the nation's leading researchers in the area of home care. He has published a basic textbook on health politics, Governing Health: The Politics of Health Policy, from Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. Before beginning his professorial career at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dr. Weissert was a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, Senior Research Manager at the U.S. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. Professor Weissert holds a doctoral degree in government from the Claremont Graduate School and an MS in journalism from Northwestern University.

Laurance Reynolds, MD, is a Pediatrician at Mott Children's Health Center in Flint, Michigan

Katherine Alaimo, PhD, is assistant research scientist in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Her recent policy research on hunger and community food security in the United States appears in Pediatrics and other publications. She is current working in Flint, Michigan, on a community-based participatory research project, "The Community Garden Storytelling Project of Flint." Dr. Alaimo holds a PhD in Community Nutrition from Cornell University. She is also the founder and coordinator of The Cornell Food Project.

Julia Berson Grand is a doctoral student in Health Management and Policy. Her analysis "Is Ronald McDonald the next Joe Camel?" will be presented at the American Public Health Association 2002 Annual Meeting. Julia holds an MPH from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education.

Eugene Feingold, PhD, JD, is Professor Emeritus of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He is a past president of the American Public Health Association and past chair of the board of directors of the Michigan League for Human Services. Dr. Feingold is a member of the boards of directors of M-CARE, the University of Michigan managed care organization, and The Corner Health Center, a medical care and health education center for adolescents in Ypsilanti, Michigan. During his tenure in Health Management and Policy, Dr. Feingold was chair of the department and taught about the politics of health care. He was also the acting dean and associate dean of the Rackham Graduate School. Dr. Feingold received his PhD in politics from Princeton University, and after his retirement from the School of Public Health, received his JD from the University of Michigan.