Virginia Commonwealth University has experts available in pediatric obesity, psychology, medicine and fashion to discuss a variety of topics including healthy eating, physical activity, lifestyle programs and strategies, trends and causes related to childhood obesity during the month of September.
A Growing Problem
Daphne Bryan, M.D., assistant professor in VCU's Department of Family Medicine and medical director of the Hayes E. Willis Health Center in Richmond, can talk about trends in childhood obesity, causes of obesity, obesity-related diseases, strategies to combat the epidemic, educating patients about healthy eating, weight loss, controlling stress with limited resources and current research at VCU.
Weight-Based Teasing and Parenting Strategies for Promoting Healthy Eating
Suzanne Mazzeo, Ph.D., is a psychologist whose research is primarily in the area of eating disorders and obesity. She can talk about childhood obesity, healthy eating, weight-based teasing, eating disorders and parenting strategies for promoting healthy eating. Her projects include a research program called NOURISH, which stands for Nourishing Our Understanding of Role Modeling to Improve Support and Health, which arms parents with strategies and skills to help teach their children to lead a healthy lifestyle. The program is also designed to help parents become role models for positive health change. Mazzeo also has expertise in health behavior change, especially changing eating and exercise behaviors; ethnic differences in eating and exercising behaviors; and developing culturally competent interventions to promote healthy eating and exercising behaviors. Mazzeo also is the principal investigator of a study examining parenting concerns among women with eating disorders.