Obesity Institute
Childhood Obesity: A Local and a National Crisis
The District of Columbia Department of Health estimates that about 40% of the city’s 120,000 children are overweight or obese. This represents one of the highest urban rates in the nation. But the problem has grown everywhere slowly and incrementally, and today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that our overall population is three to four times heavier than 40 years ago. Children in particular are victims of the complex interaction of environmental, cultural, social and nutritional factors that contribute to the etiology of the obesity epidemic.
Today, more than 35 scientists and clinicians are actively studying the many problems associated with childhood obesity at Children’s National, and their work is supported by many more professionals in clinics, laboratories and the community at large. Together they are seeking to unveil the condition’s complexities and find effective treatments through genetic, translational, clinical and population-based projects. To that end, our clinicians have taken the lead in establishing comprehensive hospital-based clinical interventions and behavior modification programs in the community. Meanwhile, our advocacy team works closely with government officials to identify public policy interventions that can slow and eventually reverse current obesity trends.
The Obesity Institute brings together our talent, ideas and creative energy in order to develop an innovative and strategic approach to addressing the childhood obesity crisis here in the nation’s capital and the country as a whole.
Back to top
Obesity Instutite: Overview
Mission:
- To advance clinical care that achieves healthy growth by developing, validating, and disseminating best practices in prevention and intervention for overweight across the age continuum from birth to age 21 years.
- To foster novel research in genomics, proteomics, and epigenetics that provides evidence for optimizing clinical care for individuals to achieve healthy body weight
The obesity epidemic has been fueled by a complex interplay of environmental, social, economic, and behavioral factors acting in concert with genetic susceptibility. It did not emerge overnight; nor will simple answers suffice. This crisis will take a dedicated group of clinicians, researchers and health care professionals from many medical specialties and interests collaborating together to identify issues and seek solutions, to communicate findings to government officials and community leaders, and to work creatively and constructively with parents and families.
Children’s National has launched The Obesity Institute, to bring together our considerable talents to find strategic and innovative solutions to childhood obesity. As recommended by the Institute of Medicine, the Obesity Institute addresses the challenge “to develop a robust evidence base of effective obesity prevention interventions and practices.”
Children’s National established the Obesity Institute to contribute innovative solutions to the preventable threats to children’s health caused by overweight and obesity. We offer effective and compassionate treatment, advocacy and public policy, research, and education. We also bring to bear committed leadership, strategic alignment, creativity, and, above all, a sense of urgency to this crisis, whose repercussions threaten to last many decades.
Back to top
Back to top
Related links
For more information, contact Evan Nadler, MD at 202-476-2151 or ObesityInstitute@cnmc.org.
- Departments & Programs - Children's National Medical Center
|
