You are invited to be an active participant in the National Summit on Legal Preparedness for Obesity Prevention and Control in Atlanta, GA, on June 18-20, 2008. The purpose of the Summit is to review the current status of law-based interventions for obesity prevention and control and shape a national agenda for improving the contribution law makes to reduce the health threats posed by obesity. The Summit proceedings will be published as the National Action Agenda for Legal Preparedness for Obesity Prevention and Control later in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics.
Participation in the Summit will be on a by-invitation basis to ensure representation of the multiple sectors, disciplines, and perspectives critical to shaping the National Action Agenda. Among those participating will be senior public health practitioners; state and local elected officials; educators; legal practitioners; urban and land use planners; philanthropic and community-based organizations; and researchers in law, nutrition, physical activity, and related fields.
In plenary sessions and in a series of working sessions, Summit participants will discuss (1) current laws, (2) competencies in the use of law, (3) coordination of law-based interventions across sectors and jurisdictions, and (4) legal best practices. These are the legal elements for public health legal preparedness and for purposes of this Summit will be analyzed specifically as they relate to obesity prevention and control. Additionally, participants will further consider the application of these elements in the following specific intervention settings: (1) communities, (2) schools, (3) health care facilities, and the (4) workplace. The Action Agenda resulting from the Summit will identify legal interventions that address behavioral targets necessary to prevent and control obesity foremost of which are:
- Reducing consumption of "energy dense" or high caloric foods
- Reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
- Increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables
- Increasing the initiation and duration of breastfeeding
- Reducing television viewing, and
- Increasing physical activity across the lifespan
In addition to the interactive, deliberative working sessions, the Summit will feature special presentations on:
- Highlights in obesity related policy and environmental changes
- Access to health care services and reducing health disparities for overweight and obese persons
- Preemption and federalism
- Zoning strategies to encourage development of healthy places and healthy choices
- School-based nutrition and exercise strategies to reduce childhood obesity, and
- Practical approaches to improve access to healthy and affordable foods.
Continuing education credits will be available for the following disciplines:
* Law * Medicine * Nursing
