October 19, 1999
Contact: Ranjit Arab, University Relations, (785) 864-8855.
Obesity is now being called an American epidemic. In fact, it has been predicted that by the year 2010, fifty percent of the American population will be classified as clinically obese. To fight this epidemic, the University of Kansas Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, along with the KU Medical Center, is sponsoring an obesity conference to educate health care professionals on a variety of new treatments for at-risk patients.
WHO: More than 175 health care professionals, including physicians, nurse, dietitians, therapists and psychologists are registered to attend. Speakers will include professors and doctors from KU and area universities and hospitals, as well as nationally-recognized experts in the field.
WHAT: The Emerging Epidemic: Strategies for Treating the Overweight and Obese Individual
WHERE: The Embassy Suites Hotel - Country Club Plaza 220 West 43rd Street, Kansas City, Mo. (816) 756-1720
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24
WHY: Among the hot topics the conference will address are:
--The dangers of the Dr. Atkins Diet and other popular all-protein diets.
--The increasing trend of obesity among children.
--The effectiveness of the new fat-blocking drug Xenacal.
--Methods of treatment for genetic diseases such as Prader-Willi syndrome.
--The proposal of "Fat Taxes" for fast-food restaurants and other "toxic environment" contributors.
Contacts:
JOSEPH E. DONNELLY, professor and chair, Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences at KU, (785) 864-0784 or jdonnelly@ukans.edu.
--He is the main organizer of the event and can provide an overview of the conference as well as several revealing statistics. He also will be conducting an exercise workshop at the conference.
SHADRACH SMITH, assistant professor, department of Internal Medicine and director of the Weight Management Clinic at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan., (913) 588-8467 or ssmith@kumc.edu.
--Smith will lecture on creating individualized drug treatment plans for obese and overweight patients. He is an excellent interview who is very good at articulating the many issues surrounding drug therapy.