05 September 1999
Joanne Ikeda wins UC outreach award
Joanne Ikeda, a nationally recognized expert on pediatric obesity and the dietary practices of ethnic and immigrant populations, has received the 1999 Outstanding Outreach Award from the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The award, which includes a plaque and cash, is presented annually by the division's Affirmative Action Office to academics with Cooperative Extension, the university's outreach arm.
As a Cooperative Extension nutrition education specialist and codirector of the Center for Hunger and Obesity in the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, Ikeda has been a leader in efforts to refine approaches to the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity at the local, state and national levels. She is author or coauthor of several books and training manuals designed to help healthcare professionals, paraprofessionals and parents instill healthy eating habits and encourage physical activity in children and adolescents. These publications include the training kit and accompanying videotape Children and Weight, What Health Professionals Can Do About It, coauthored with Patricia Crawford, also a nutrition specialist in the College of Natural Resources; and Kids Module: Parents and Children Sharing Food Tasks, produced with UC Berkeley Staff Research Associate Rita Mitchell. Ikeda recently provided in-service training for pediatricians who care for low-income children through California Children's Medical Services on the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity. She also works to eliminate discrimination based on size. She published a commentary in the August 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association promoting a size-acceptance approach to weight management with large people.
In addition, Ikeda has been a pioneer in conducting community collaborative research on the food habits and dietary quality of California's low-income, immigrant and ethnic populations. Her findings are used to develop culturally sensitive and relevant educational programs for these groups, which have included Hmong families in California's Central Valley; Vietnamese-speaking women in the Bay Area; Native Americans in Mariposa and other areas of California; and African-American women from eight California counties. Last year she received the Nutrition Education for the Public Award of Excellence from the American Dietetic Association for the project A Culturally Sensitive and Relevant Nutrition Education Program for Vietnamese Immigrants. She recently completed an in-service training module on increasing cross-cultural competence in nutrition education, which is being distributed by the American Dietetic Association and the Society for Nutrition Education.
By understanding and emphasizing the valuable dietary practices of cultural minorities, Ikeda is able to win their trust and help them maintain healthy habits without abandoning their traditional practices. "When she approached Native American communities, she emphasized the many positive Native American practices that her previous research had identified," says Professor Leonard Bjeldanes, chair of the College of Natural Resources' Department of Nutritional Science, who nominated Ikeda for the award. "Tribal leaders, who were inundated with grim statistics about health problems in their communities, were delighted to hear 'good news' and enthusiastically endorsed a nutrition education project that she developed in collaboration with their communities."
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 4:24
05 November 2009
Physical education key to improving health in low-income adolescents
School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley.
The study, which identifies opportunities for adolescents to improve their health based on routine daily activities, finds that regular participation in PE class is significantly associated with greater cardiovascular fitness and lower body mass index.
“We took an incredibly comprehensive look at all of the opportunities kids have throughout their day to engage in physical activity and determined which are the most strongly linked to fitness and weight status,†said first author Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF Children’s Hospital. “Obesity continues to be a major public health concern, particularly in low-income communities, so it is imperative that we develop targeted interventions to improve the health of at-risk youth.â€
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:17
20 February 2009
Report Details Increasing Overweight and Obesity in California
Health and medical professionals have cited sobering statistics in recent years about the ever-increasing waistline of adults and children in the United States and the long-term impact carrying that extra weight will have on our collective health and economy.
The facts are staggering: nearly two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese; 34 percent of children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese. The increase in obesity - fueled by unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity - has led to a surge in diabetes during the last 20 years. Moreover, in California, some ethnic groups - Latinos, African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans - are affected disproportionately. And if nothing is done to curtail the increasing rates of obesity in children, they will be the first generation of offspring who will not outlive their parents.
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Posted by Cyril at 6:27
13 January 2009
Mice without key enzyme eat without becoming obese
Researchers CNR have identified a new enzyme that plays a far more important role than expected in controlling the breakdown of fat. In a new study in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers report that mice that have had this enzyme disabled remained lean despite eating a high-fat diet and losing a hormone that suppresses appetite.
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Posted by Cyril at 0:28
20 July 2007
Preventing obesity: What should we eat?
Reports in the press related to diet and nutrition are often conflicting -- and can easily confuse than clarify the issue of what people should eat to prevent obesity.
Researchers at the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health recently conducted a comprehensive review of the literature published between 1992 and 2003 on the dietary determinants of obesity in children
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Posted by Cyril at 1:30
20 July 2007
Teaming up helps bring down childhood overweight
The statistics are alarming: the prevalence of overweight children has tripled over the last 30 years, and now affects one in six school-aged children nationwide. But while the problem is plain to see, the remedy has been elusive. Recent studies by UC researchers and others reveal that the rise in childhood obesity is rooted in fundamental social changes, explaining why this epidemic is so hard to control as well as bringing us closer to a solution.“We used to think the primary cause was parenting, then we thought it was genetic,†says Pat Crawford, co-director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health. “But neither could explain the rapid increase in childhood obesity — we found that a significant fraction is environmental.â€
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Posted by Cyril at 1:07
25 January 2007
Atkins Foundation pledges $10 million to Center for Weight and Health
The Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation has pledged $10 million to the Center for Weight and Health at the University of California, Berkeley, to support nutrition research and obesity prevention programs.
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Posted by Cyril at 5:15
09 October 2006
Biochemical Moving Pictures: Homecoming Podcast
On Homecoming weekend, Professor Marc Hellerstein presented major themes of his current research in nutritional sciences, including working with complex systems, promising research in ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease), and harnessing the health benefits of caloric restriction and exercise.
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Posted by Eva St. Clair at 1:32
19 July 2006
Child diets don't fight obesity
Dieting, particularly in adolescence, can be counterproductive.
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Posted by Cyril at 6:38
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