Los Angeles Conference: "Science and Policy of Obesity"

The Science and Policy of Obesity Saturday, May 17, 2008, 1 to 3 p.m. Wallis Annenberg Building (California Science Center in Los Angeles)

Speakers present the current science of obesity, describing the various ways obesity harms the body, how it affects different ethnicities and the genetic component of body weight. If obesity is so bad for us, how did it become an epidemic in the United States? What are the ways our culture and economy support obesity? In the light of this scientific and social framework, panelists discuss the ethics of different approaches to the obesity epidemic. Are we a society that controls what people eat?

Panelists include: James A. Levine, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Bioengineering, Richard Emslander Chair of Nutrition and Metabolism, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Antronette K. (Toni) Yancey, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles; Manal Aboelata, MPH, Program Director, Prevention Institute. Conan Nolan, NBC4 Reporter, will moderate the discussion.