ProfNet Experts Available on Childhood Obesity, Relationships, Fall Fashion and More Also in This Edition: Jobs for Writers, Media Industry Blog Posts

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire.

EXPERT ALERTS

• Can Social Media Reflect Relationship Realities?
• Relationships From the Inside Out
• Yoga More Popular Than Ever in the U.S.
• Updating Your Fall Wardrobe

EXPERT ROUNDUP

• September is National Childhood Obesity Month (34 experts)

MEDIA JOBS

• Writer – Vox (DC)
• Freelance Reporter – Kentucky Today (KY)
• Reporter – Navarre Press (FL)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Numb With Disbelief: Newsrooms Feel Impact of WDBJ Shooting
• The Blog Blog: How to Make Graphics on Your Phone
• First-Time Speaker: Four Tips to Build Your Speaking Career

EXPERT ALERTS:

Can Social Media Reflect Relationship Realities?
Brad LaMorgese
Family Law Attorney
Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson LLP in Dallas
A New York judge presiding over a contentious parental custody battle has ordered the mother to turn over the password to her Facebook account. Her ex-husband claims this will reveal she is a globe-trotting, mostly absent parent. Says LaMorgese: "You have to ask how complete and accurate social media posts are, especially in an area as important as determining custody. You might be able to identify certain questionable activities, such as a cheating relationship or excessive drinking or partying, by scrolling through someone's timeline, and that certainly can be relevant to child custody. But it is not going to be easy to determine the quality of relationship a parent has with a child simply by viewing their social media posts. This is especially true when it is a young child. It is very likely a parent has made a conscious decision not to post photos of her child for privacy or security reasons."
Contact: Rhonda Reddick, [email protected]

Relationships From the Inside Out
Kailen Rosenberg
CEO and Founder
The Love Architects
Rosenberg encourages you to take a look at your value and see what you have allowed into your world that shouldn't be there: "If we have no real clue who we are, we then spend our entire lives not really knowing our authentic selves and therefore ending up on a treadmill going nowhere but on a habitual track of unhappy, unsuccessful, unfulfilling relationships. That, in turn, changes our energy, which, in turn, affects the planet we live on. Life is here to love on you, to teach you, and to bring you love, and it won't allow you to be with the wrong person for too long. Your most recent break-up leaves you with a wonderful opening for the right person to finally come in."
Rosenberg is CEO and founder of The Love Architects, an elite matchmaking and love design firm that remodels the love lives of some of the world's most influential people. She is a Masters Certified Life Coach, renowned relationship expert, elite matchmaker, spokesperson for The Unconditional Love Campaign (highlighting the unconditional love offered between caregivers and Alzheimer's patients), and Love Ambassador for OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), as well as the author of "Real Love, Right Now: A 30-Day Blueprint for Finding Your Soul Mate."
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/kailenrosenberg
Contact: Michelle Tennant, [email protected]

Yoga More Popular Than Ever in the U.S.
Andrew Tanner
Spokesperson
Yoga Alliance
"Yoga has never been more popular, with 19 million people practicing and 56% of adults interested in practicing."
September is National Yoga Month, and Tanner is available to talk about trends, stats on who is practicing yoga in the U.S. and why, and advice on getting started and finding a yoga teacher.
Website: http://www.yogaalliance.org
Contact: Dani Mackey, [email protected]

Updating Your Fall Wardrobe
Michelle Washington
Fashion Instructor
The Art Institute of Austin
"Fall is an opportune time to clean out your closet and make way for new styles. However, some pieces in your summer wardrobe work wonderfully as autumn garments. Updating your wardrobe is an easy transition once you learn how a few versatile pieces can help you look stylish and put together for fall and beyond."
Washington is a fashion stylist with more than six years of experience working on menswear, womenswear and childrenswear for clothing labels such as Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein, Gap, J. Crew, American Eagle, Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne. Her teaching experience includes being a fashion instructor at Columbus College of Art and Design, Westwood College and The Art Institute of Austin. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in fashion design from Baylor University and a Master of Arts in education from University of Phoenix.
Contact: Ryan C. Smith, [email protected]

EXPERT ROUNDUP: National Childhood Obesity Month (34 experts)

Jennifer Weiss, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon
"Aches and pains in the hips, knees and ankles are more common among children who are overweight, and participation in running and sports is more challenging for these children. When they injure themselves, return to activity can take longer, and they can enter an unfortunate cycle of further decrease in activity and further weight gain."
Weiss, a Los Angeles-based orthopaedic surgeon and expert on childhood obesity, is an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) spokesperson during National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. She can discuss the impact of nutrition and exercise, beginning in childhood and continuing throughout life, on bone and joint health; orthopaedic conditions linked to obesity; and the long-term effects of obesity on musculoskeletal and overall health.
Bio: http://tinyurl.com/npheocu
Contact: Sheryl Cash, [email protected]

Stacey Cahn, PhD
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
"Today, the most common reason children are bullied is weight. And the consequences are no joke. Compared to their peers, children with obesity have lower academic performance and their parents spend less money on their higher education. In addition, children with obesity are also more likely to refuse to attend school all together."
Dr. Cahn's areas of interest are cognitive-based behavioral therapy, evidence-based practice, and eating and weight disorders -- including obesity and body image. She has extensive clinical training experience in the treatment of eating disorders. She can address the psychological effects of and issues surrounding childhood obesity, including low academic performance, low body image and issues with bullying.
Contact: Renee Cree, [email protected]

J. Max Goodson, DDS, PhD
Director of the Kuwait Healthy Life Study
The Forsyth Institute
"Obesity is epidemic throughout the world. We believe that metabolic disease can only be effectively treated by prevention, hence understanding its development in children is imperative. We use saliva as a tool for identifying and understanding the underlying indicators of obesity because it contains much of the same medical diagnostic information as blood – DNA, proteins, hormones, metabolites – but is a less invasive and less painful method, which is critical when dealing with children. Putting this method to use in Kuwait, we have collected more than 16,000 saliva samples from adolescents over the past four years, generating a wealth of data that has greatly contributed to our research in preventive health."
Goodson, a senior investigator at Forsyth's Center for Salivary Diagnostics and associate clinical professor of oral medicine, infection and immunity at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, can discuss diagnostic approaches and prevention strategies tied to childhood obesity and related health conditions. Through his work with the Kuwait Healthy Life Study (KHLS), a longitudinal study that uses saliva samples to measure metabolic disease and obesity in more than 8,000 children, Goodson has revealed that certain salivary biomarkers are present in obese children. Using these indicators to predict whether a child is at risk, he and his team are working to test and implement lifestyle intervention programs based on this technology.
Contact: Tonya Eckert, [email protected]

Michael G. Ross, MD
Researcher
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Los Angeles
While much of the obesity prevention efforts today focus on diet and exercise, Dr. Ross is going even further back in time to explore what happens during development in the womb that could lead to overeating and obesity later in life. Along with Mina Desai, PhD, Dr. Ross is studying whether exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) can alter neuron development in the womb and cause overeating later in life, and links between maternal nutrition and offspring obesity: "With the growing rates of obesity and medical costs related to obesity, our studies seek to answer the questions about what influences during fetal development could lead to overeating and obesity later in life. We have already developed data indicating that BPA exposure, maternal undernutrition or maternal obesity have an impact on fetal brain development, and we have received additional grants that will enable us to fully explore these linkages and examine their impacts."
Drs. Ross and Desai received an Americans with Diabetes Association grant to study whether obesity is programmed into the offspring as a result of poor maternal nutrition during fetal development. Preventing obesity is considered crucial to preventing type 2 diabetes, the most prevalent form of the disease. More than one-third of Americans are obese, and the medical costs for obesity are estimated to be more than $147 billion in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Contact: Laura Mecoy, [email protected]

Mina Desai, PhD
Researcher
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Los Angeles
While much of the obesity prevention efforts today focus on diet and exercise, Dr. Desai is going even further back in time to explore what happens during development in the womb that could lead to overeating and obesity later in life. Along with Michael G. Ross, MD, Dr. Desai is studying whether exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) can alter neuron development in the womb and cause overeating later in life, and links between maternal nutrition and offspring obesity: "Removing sugary snacks and fatty foods from our menus won't be enough to halt obesity if our neurons are telling us we're still hungry. The focus of our research is to determine what causes the formation of these neurons during the development in the womb so that we might limit the neural triggers that cause the overeating that leads to obesity."
Drs. Desai and Ross received an NIH grant to examine neuron cell development to determine if BPA exposure causes the formation of more appetite neurons, which trigger the desire to eat, and/or fewer satiety neurons, which signal fullness and a desire to stop eating.
Contact: Laura Mecoy, [email protected]

Dr. Shayla Holub
Associate Professor
University of Texas at Dallas
"Childhood obesity has been made out to be a scary proposition, but I think parents should be less concerned about their children's weight status and more concerned with their child's physical and psychological health.  For physical health, parents should encourage healthy food intake and healthy physical activity patterns -- habits formed in childhood continue into adulthood. Weight status can be an indicator of poor health, but it does not necessarily mean a child is unhealthy. There is natural, genetic variability to weight, which means that some children will simply be heavier than others. For psychological health, parents should help their children see their value within, instead of focusing on what children look like. Body image concerns and weight prejudice can begin during early childhood, and can have long-term consequences for how children see themselves and others."
Dr. Holub is the head of the psychological sciences department at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is known for her research in the area of childhood obesity.  Her work investigates how parents socialize their children's eating habits through their feeding practices, such as pressuring children to eat or restricting their food intake. Dr. Holub's work also examines factors related to why some children maintain their ability to self-regulate food intake (i.e., eat when hungry and stop when full), while other children lose this natural ability.
Contact: Phil Roth, [email protected]

Jay Jordan
Head Fitness Maverick
Fitness Mavericks
"Childhood obesity is an adult responsibility. Lead by example, setting good habits in your children at a young age. Childhood obesity is not only a nutritional challenge, it is a symptom of families not spending enough active time together. As our children may be our most accurate reflection of our own selves, obesity in our children means something is wrong and needs change now."
Jordan is known as the most sought-after over-40 mind-body performance coach in the health fitness community. He is famous for helping over 44,000 men perform and feel their best without undesirable diet and exercise at www.fitnessmavericks.com.
Contact: [email protected]

Wendy M. Miller, M.D.
Director, Beaumont Healthy Kids Program and Beaumont Weight Control Center
Director of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine Research, Beaumont Hospital - Royal Oak
Professor, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
"One of the primary challenges of treating children with obesity issues is getting the whole family on board. We frequently find that weight issues aren't just isolated to the child: One or both parents often have unhealthy eating habits or are physically inactive. As providers, caretakers and role models, parents of children with unhealthy eating habits must be willing to make healthy lifestyle changes themselves. Those children whose parents exercise patience and offer unwavering support are generally the most successful in reaching their weight loss goals. If we can change the trajectory of an individual's life at a young age, we have the opportunity to reduce and even prevent long-term illness such as high blood pressure and Type II Diabetes."
In addition to looking at eating habits and exercise levels, Miller also encourages patients and their families to get screened and treated for potentially co-occurring mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression.
In 2008 and 2009, Miller was active in the Healthy Kids, Healthy Michigan Steering Committee which worked to promote healthy lifestyles for children and reduce childhood obesity and chronic disease.
Miller's Healthy Kids Program has been recognized by state Surgeon General Kimberlydawn Wisdom and the Michigan Steps up Healthcare Group for outstanding performance in disease prevention.
Her work frequently appears in various peer-reviewed medical journals, including Obesity, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and Vascular Disease Prevention.
Website: www.beaumont.edu
Contact: Maryanne MacLeod, [email protected]

Lisa D. Ellis, MS, RDN, CDN, LMSW, CEDRD
Nutrition Therapist
"A key aspect of childhood obesity lies with the family unit and belief systems regarding food and body images in the home. What is each parent's relationship with food? Do they model appropriate discipline with their choices, or is their eating-related discipline too lax -- or perhaps too over-the-top with orthorexic strictness? Are they obsessed with food, either eating or restricting? Is food used as fuel, or as a means of gratification? Is there a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-eat hypocrisy in the home? And, not incidentally, what do parents and older siblings say about their own bodies? Do parents have discussions about body consciousness with their kids when faced with the sort of unreasonable body image ideation ubiquitous on TV and in print? The bottom line: In the area of defeating childhood obesity, good, well-reasoned role modeling is crucial."
Ellis is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and therapist in private practice in the NYC area. She received a B.S, in nutrition and psychology from Simmons College; an M.S. in clinical nutrition from New York Medical College; and an MSW from Fordham University. Her areas of expertise include eating disorders and emotion-triggered eating in children, adolescents, adults and families.
Website: http://www.integratingnutrition.com
Contact: [email protected]

Deanna Hoelscher, Ph.D., R.D.
Director, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health
"Childhood obesity is one of the most challenging public health issues facing the nation, and rates of child obesity are especially high in Texas."
Hoelscher is the director of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, which was founded in 2006 with a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in an effort to serve as the state, national, and international leader in the promotion of healthy living for children and their families. She specializes in nutrition and physical activity programs for children; school-based obesity prevention programs; nutrition and physical activity related health policy; and measurement tools related to child nutrition and physical activity. She is based in Austin, Texas.
Contact: [email protected]

Daniel Taber, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health
"Banning soda, but allowing sports drinks and coffee drinks in vending machines, just shifts sugary drink consumption from soda to the alternatives."
Taber most recently published a study showing that both in schools that regulated vending machines and states that regulated soda sales, there was no increase in alternate sugary drink consumption. However, states and schools that regulated either the sale of soda or the availability of vending machines, but not both, saw the highest increases in alternate sugary drinks consumption. Taber is an expert in childhood obesity policy research and systems science. He evaluates whether state and local laws are successful in improving diet, increasing physical activity, reducing obesity, and reducing health disparities among children. He conducted the first longitudinal study that found state competitive food laws were associated with lower student weight gain over time. He is based in Austin, Texas.
Contact: [email protected]

Rosa Cataldo
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Stony Brook University
"Childhood obesity is a serious -- and growing -- problem in the United States, so parents should be concerned about their child's weight. We are not talking about a few extra pounds, but rather a condition that can have a negative effect on a child's overall health. Effects could include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, joint pain and sleep apnea. In addition to the physical effects, childhood obesity is related to a number of emotional/psychological effects, such as stigmatization, poor self-esteem, depression and anxiety. And when obese children grow up to be obese adults, the consequences escalate. In addition to all the effects experienced in childhood, obese adults are at risk for heart disease, stroke, several types of cancer, infertility, osteoarthritis and other issues."
Cataldo's career began as a registered dietitian more than 20 years ago after completing training at Long Island University. She has spent nearly a decade working as a registered dietician in weight management in various parts of the United States, including Walt Disney World. Dr. Cataldo earned a doctorate in osteopathy from Des Moines University.  This was followed by pediatric and chief residency, as well as an Academic General Pediatrics fellowship at Stony Brook University, which included completing a Master's in Public Health in the Evaluative Sciences. She has completed a systematic review of the literature examining the influence of physical activity health behavior interventions on self-efficacy among children (published in International Scholarly Research Network- Obesity). She was granted a Targeted Research Opportunity Award from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, which allowed her the opportunity to complete an analysis, which examined the effects of weight on motor and mental development of infants and toddlers (under review at Pediatric Obesity). She created the obesity care plan for the pediatric department's National Committee for Quality Assurance- Patient Centered Medical Home, as well as creating obesity care-plans and a weight management pre-completed note, accessible for pediatric practitioner to follow while caring for patients with obesity. In 2012, she launched a multidisciplinary medical Healthy Weight and Wellness Center for children at Stony Brook Children's Hospital. Most recently, she was nominated as the Pediatric Medical Advisor for Metabolic and Bariatric Center with Adolescent Qualifications. She is available to discuss: obesity in children, diet and health, weight management, influence of physical activity on healthy behavior, and metabolics and bariatrics.
Contact: Kristy Godette, [email protected]

Stacy Leatherwood Cannon, M.D.
Pediatrician, Childhood Obesity Expert
Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit
With nearly one in three children in Michigan overweight or obese, Dr. Cannon has made it her goal to find creative ways to encourage children and their families to lead healthier lifestyles. One effort: She co-created a new, free smartphone app that teaches the 5-2-1-0 education campaign through fun games and activities about making healthy food choices and being more active during the day.
She is available to discuss: the 5-2-1-0 lifestyle; decreasing screen time while increasing physical activity; finding creative ways to incorporate healthy eating and exercise into children's lives; involving the entire family in healthy choices; talking with children about obesity.
Contact: Krista Hopson Boyer, [email protected]

Heather Stouffer
Founder
Mom Made Foods
A working mom, Stouffer created her company when she found great difficulty finding options for quick and easy kid-friendly meals that weren't laden with unhealthy ingredients and preservatives/hormones/sodium for weeknight dinners. Since then, she has learned a lot about parenting, family health, and food in general, and has become a strong advocate for childhood health, as well as helping busy parents by offering tips and insights she's learned along the way. She is available to share statistics on this national epidemic, healthy solutions for family meals, ways parents can read and understand food labels in the grocery aisle, tips for becoming a more active family, and ways parents can be role models and reinforce positive eating behaviors.
Contact: Alexandra Brazie, [email protected]

Jennifer Christman, RD, LDN
Clinical Nutrition Manager
Medifast, Inc.
Christman helps to organize all of the nutrition content that goes into the Medifast marketing materials. When she is not busy keeping up on the latest and greatest nutrition information, she is helping to guide our clients and customers on their weight-loss journey. She brings 10-plus years of experience as a Registered Dietitian and is super-passionate about getting you healthy. She can discuss: childhood obesity, diabetes, nutrition for children, how to approach health eating with children, healthy lunch and snack recipes, how to make lifestyle changes if your child is overweight, how to make choices to be a healthier family.
Contact: Liz Zarins, [email protected]

Dr. Michelle Gonzalez-Neely, DO
Physician and Educator
Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa
Dr. Neely's passion for medicine and helping others began as a child, when her sister was struggling with health issues. In undergraduate school, she majored in dietetics and nutrition. After graduating, she combined her love of nutrition and biology with her second passion, teaching, and taught science in junior high school for a year. After finishing medical school and her residency in family medicine, she renewed her enthusiasm for nutrition and health education as medical director at Melange Health Solutions in Charlotte, N.C. She can discuss: childhood obesity, nutrition, how to teach healthy eating habits to children, why children must learn to eat healthy at a young age, the medical side effects of obesity in children.
Contact: Liz Zarins, [email protected]

Thea Runyan
Co-founder, Head of Content and Consulting
Kurbo Health
Prior to cofounding Kurbo Health, Runyan spent 12 years as the lead behavior coach for the Pediatric Weight Control Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, where her expertise in this field has helped hundreds of kids, teens, and families manage weight and lead healthier lifestyles. Known as "The Stoplight Lady," Runyan is a frequent speaker on topics related to health and weight management for children, and has contributed to publications such as the San Jose Mercury News, as well writing regularly for the Kurbo blog. She holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MPH from San Jose State University. She is available to discuss: how to talk to your kids about weight; helping encourage and support healthy eating and exercise habits in kids, teens; healthy (and light) alternatives for school lunches, after-school snacks and holiday meals; and the role of parents, schools and pediatricians in stopping childhood obesity -- myth vs. fact.
Contact: Aimee Grove, [email protected]

Robert Ferguson, MS, CN
CEO
Diet Free Life
Weight Loss and Fitness Expert, Certified Nutritionist
Currently serving on the Presidential Task Force on Obesity for the National Medical Association, Ferguson is a nationally recognized author, certified celebrity nutritionist, fitness expert, and motivational speaker. He is also the official nutritionist for the Soba Recovery Center in Malibu, and is working with the likes of Aetna Insurance and Susan G Komen to create nutritional lifestyle opportunities for underserved and medically struggling individuals. For more than 20 years, Ferguson and his team have been dedicated to meeting people where they are and helping them engage in the joy of eating again, which results in simple and authentic weight loss and personal wellness. In addition to his success with everyday people, Ferguson has worked with Fortune 500 companies as a speaker and consultant, as well as a growing list of celebrities and professional athletes, including Toni Braxton, Ricki Lake, La Toya Jackson, Bobbi Bonilla, Daniel Baldwin, Indy race car driver Pippa Mann and the "Days of Our Lives" soap opera, to name a few.
Website: http://www.DietFreeLife.com
Contact: Steve Allen, [email protected]

Scott Goudeseune
CEO and President
American Council on Exercise
Goudeseune has more than 30 years of experience in operations, sales and marketing, and provides the strategic vision and direction for ACE. He has spearheaded efforts to firmly establish and enhance ACE as an influential, powerful and unified voice beyond the fitness industry. He envisions an increase in the number of ACE Certified Professionals and expands the impact they can have by fostering opportunities through a growing number of partnerships within and outside the fitness industry and across the healthcare and workplace wellness spectrum. He is committed to working with policymakers to promote changes that lead to a healthier America, working toward the organization's goal of eradicating the obesity epidemic by 2035.
Goudeseune is also a member of the board of directors of the Campaign to End Obesity, president of the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity (NCPPA), and a member of the board of directors on the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance (NPAPA) serving on the Business/Industry Sector in executing the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP). He is available to discuss: eliminating childhood obesity; ACE commitment to helping fitness professionals educate youth on healthy behaviors; importance of public spaces (parks, rec centers) as a resource for physical activity for kids; health and fitness tips for healthy kids; childhood obesity prevention and education.
Contact: Olga Walsh, [email protected]

Jennifer Glockner
Registered Dietician Nutritionist, Creator
Smartee Plate
Glockner is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a bachelor's degree in psychology from UCLA and an extensive science background. She continues her education enthusiastically and completed a Certificate of Training in Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management Program in 2014. She is a good role model and practices what she teaches. She can often be found cooking a hearty batch of soup, walking her dog Charlie, or spending time with family, including the adorable niece who inspired her to create her Smartee Plate series. Glockner is passionate about empowering kids to become smart eaters who use food as a lifelong tool to prevent disease and promote wellness. With every bite and every word, she proves eating healthy can be fun -- and delicious! She is available to discuss: the importance of establishing healthy eating habits and physical activity at a young age; fruits and vegetables as the star of the show; encouraging variety in a child's diet and how to be open to trying new things; the 12th try is the charm -- why parents should encourage children to repeatedly try new foods; recipes and fun activities for families to try together; and the importance of family meals and role-modeling of parents.
Website: www.smarteeplate.com
Contact: Marissa Madill, [email protected]

Neal Malik, DrPH, MPH, RDN, CHES, EP-C
Assistant Professor, Core Faculty
School of Natural Health Arts & Sciences
Bastyr University, California
Over the past eight years, Dr. Malik has taught at several colleges and universities, including California State University, Fullerton, and Crafton Hills Community College. He is also a Certified Exercise Physiologist, has been featured on television and national radio for his nutrition expertise, and has authored and co-authored numerous articles on following a healthy lifestyle. His areas of expertise include nutrition and exercise science.
Contact: [email protected]

Eugene Dinkevich, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Dr. Dinkevich is available to discuss how childhood obesity may be treated or managed with exercise and diet. He has worked with children to help them achieve and maintain normal weight and healthy lifestyles in Brooklyn, N.Y., for more than a decade.  As the director of the Downstart Healthy Lifestyles center at SUNY Downstate, Dr. Dinkevich supervises a team of psychologists, physicians, and a dietician who evaluate overweight and obese children for medical and psychological factors associated with being obese and help them to make lifestyle and dietary changes to lose weight and to become more physically fit. He has lectured nationally about pediatric obesity and has published in this area.
Contact: Ronald Najman, [email protected]

Carolyn Dean, MD, ND
Dean is the author of "Kid's Health, A Doctor's Guide for Parents" and "Homeopathic Remedies for Children's Common Ailments." She is a medical doctor and nutrition expert with over 25 years of experience with children's health and learning issues, including diet, weight loss and obesity, as well as focus, concentration and behavior issues. She can provide expert advice about childhood obesity.
Dr. Dean has authored 30 books, including "Kid's Health, A Doctor's Guide for Parents," "Homeopathic Remedies for Children's Common Ailments," "Future Health Now Encyclopedia," "The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Women's Health," "Hormone Balance," "365 Ways to Boost Your Brain Power: Tips, Exercise, Advice," "The Yeast Connection," "IBS for Dummies" and "The Magnesium Miracle." Radio, TV and magazines interview her regularly, including ABC's "The View," NBC and CBS, "Know the Cause" with host Doug Kaufmann, "Your Health with Dr. Becker," "The Women's Connection" with Barrie Switzen, "Weekend Today in NY," WNBC with Dr. Ian Smith, "Health Matters" with Christine Crosbie, and Global TV to name a few. She is on the Medical Advisory Board for the Nutritional Magnesium Association (http://www.nutritionalmagnesium.org). She is available to answer questions via email and/or by phone interview as necessary.
Contact: Boris Levitsky, [email protected]

Debi Silber, MS, RD, WHC, FDN
The Mojo Coach
CEO, Lifestyle Fitness, Inc.
Silber, creator of the Mojo Fuel line of deliciously healthy nutrition bars and shakes, is a health, weight loss, fitness, and personal development expert, speaker and author who has helped thousands of people become their physical, mental and emotional best over the last 25 years. She is also the health correspondent for the local CBS affiliate, WLNY-TV, CBS-10; was recently on FOX and the "Dr. Oz" show; and was featured in Shape, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and more. She is also a mom of four and has helped countless moms prevent and turn around some habits that lead to childhood obesity.
Website: www.TheMojoCoach.com
Contact: [email protected]

Jennifer Orlet Fisher, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Temple University
Interim Director, Center for Obesity Research and Education, Temple University School of Medicine
Dr. Fisher holds graduate degrees in nutrition from the University of Illinois (A.M., Nutritional Sciences, 1993) and from the Pennsylvania State University (Ph.D., Nutrition, 1997). Prior to her appointment at Temple University, she was an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and scientist at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston. Her research focuses on the development of eating behavior during infancy and early childhood. The broad goal of her research is to understand how early eating environments influence child behavioral controls of food intake and health outcomes, particularly overweight. Her efforts focus on the role of the family environment, as a first and fundamental context in which eating habits develop. Over the past decade she has conducted federally funded observational and experimental investigations of socio-environmental influences on development in appetite regulation in preschool aged children, including studies of child feeding practices and food portion sizes.  Her current research focuses on snacking behaviors in young children and interventions with low-income mothers around child feeding. Dr. Fisher can weigh in on issues regarding food parenting, child snacking, portion sizes and food preferences.
Contact: Jennifer Lee, [email protected]

Robert C. Whitaker, MD, MPH
Professor of Public Health and Pediatrics
Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia
Dr. Whitaker's research interests are in the childhood antecedents of obesity. He has conducted multiple epidemiologic and qualitative studies in this area, examining the role of parental obesity, the emotional quality of the mother-child relationship, and mother-child feeding interaction, as well as contextual factors such as poverty, race/ethnicity, neighborhood safety, and food insecurity. His most recent work has focused on obesity prevention strategies for low-income children in early childcare and education settings, particularly Head Start, with an emphasis on integrating the dual goals of obesity prevention and promoting children's social-emotional development. His key areas of interest include obesity prevention from conception to school-age, family and neighborhood contexts in the psycho-social determinants of obesity, policy approaches to obesity prevention in early childhood are and education.
Contact: Jennifer Lee, [email protected]

Stephen J. Virgilio
Professor, Department of Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management
Adelphi University, Garden City, N.Y.
Dr. Virgilio can discuss better ways for parents to go about approaching the topic of weight with their child; how to motivate children to become active and play sports; how parents can set a good example of a fit and active lifestyle for their children; how the obesity problem is on the rise; the factors behind the obesity numbers; and what's being done to combat the issue. In his latest published book, "Fitness Education for Children: A Team Approach, 2nd. ed." (Human Kinetics 2012), Dr. Virgilio emphasizes the importance of collaboration to combat obesity and promote active lifestyles. He shows how you can combine the efforts of physical educators, administrators, classroom teachers, school volunteers, parents, school lunch personnel, health service professionals, and others in the community.
Dr. Virgilio has been a children's health expert for more than 30 years and has served as a consultant to companies such as Fisher-Price, Sport-Fun, and Dannon Yogurt, as well as to school districts across the country. In his previous book, "Active Start for Healthy Kids: Activities, Exercises, and Nutritional Tips," which focuses on children ages 2-6, he provides a wealth of safe, inexpensive, and developmentally appropriate activities that parents, teachers, and caregivers can implement.  He says it is important to reach children in their formative years and help them develop positive behaviors that will last a lifetime. He has been quoted in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, SELF Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and USA Today, as well as Child and Parenting magazines. He also has been a guest on several national broadcasts, including the radio program "Parent Talk" and ABC's "20/20."
Contact: Kali Chan, [email protected]

Sheila Kemper Dietrich
Founder
Livliga & Kidliga
As a working mom of three, former executive director of the American Heart Association in Denver, and founder of Livliga & Kidliga portion control products, Dietrich is available to provide useful commentary on the subject of childhood obesity. She battled her own weight-loss issues for years, until she developed a patented line of products to help individuals practice weight management while developing improved eating habits -- the Livliga dinnerware set. Dietrich, her husband, and daughter lost over 100 pounds using the system. She also recognized the importance of educating children, from early on, about nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight, so she designed a special set for kids titled, Kidliga. She is well-versed on the subject of weight management and children, how to communicate with youngsters, and useful tactics for establishing great fitness and eating habits.
Contact: Nicole Manigault, [email protected]

Steven Kelder, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Co-director, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health
Kelder has more than 20 years of experience in design and evaluation of child and adolescent research. He is available to discuss interventions designed for promotion of physical activity and healthy eating, obesity prevention and substance use prevention. He is one of the lead investigators of the CATCH project, a research-based program that guides elementary schools, families and children in being healthy, reaching more than a million Texas children and others in the United States and other countries. CATCH transforms a child's environment, culture, and society by coordinating child health efforts across all aspects of the educational experience: classroom, food services, physical education, and family. He is based in Austin, Texas.
Contact: [email protected]

Robert Davidson, PhD
Program Director, Nutrition and Human Performance Program
Logan University
According to Dr. Davidson, BMI and body weight are pretty worthless for identifying fat content and should not be used to identify an individual as overweight or obese or for developing body composition goals. Better measures are waist circumference, body fat percentage measured by skin-fold, underwater/hydrostatic weighing or BODPOD: "If you are concerned about weight, you really need to be more concerned about body composition."
Dr. Davidson is an expert on body and diet composition, as well as the measurement of body composition. His research goals include the creation of a virtual human capable of simulating and predicting the effects of nutrition, exercise, environment and disease on human physical performance capabilities. He and his graduate students have developed the "build-a-body" kit, a tool which allows children to simulate what their bodies will look like at a specific age if they continue their current diet and exercise habits. By bringing this tool to area elementary students, the goal is to help give children a more tangible idea of the effects of their habits and the importance of making healthy choices.
Contact: Maria Lemakis, [email protected]

Chantelle Hart, PhD
Associate Professor of Public Health, Temple University
Research Scientist, Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple
Dr. Hart's research focuses on the use of behavioral approaches for prevention and treatment of obesity in childhood, particularly the role of enhancing children's sleep to decrease obesity risk.  Additional research interests include the role of parents in obesity risk transmission/protection, early life influences on obesity risk, and dissemination of behavioral treatment approaches for pediatric obesity in community settings. Dr. Hart holds a graduate degree in clinical psychology from Case Western Reserve University (Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, 2004); she completed her internship and fellowship in pediatric obesity at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Prior to joining the faculty at Temple, Dr. Hart was an associate professor (Research) at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and staff psychologist at the Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center at the Miriam Hospital.
Contact: Jennifer Lee, [email protected]

Dr. Marc Michalsky
Surgical Director, Center for Healthy Weight & Nutrition
Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
Under his leadership, the center's Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program has become both nationally and internationally recognized for its clinical excellence and ongoing participation in NIH-funded clinical outcomes research. In August 2015, the bariatric program at Nationwide became the country's first free-standing pediatric center to be awarded accreditation as part of the American College of Surgeons' Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). On the national level, Dr. Michalsky has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes related to bariatric surgery in the adolescent population and has served on various national organization committees including the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, American Pediatric Surgical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Surgeons.
Contact: Katelyn Hanzel, [email protected]

Ihuoma U. Eneli, MD, MS
Medical Director, Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition
Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
Dr. Eneli oversees the assessment clinics and medical weight management programs. Her clinical and research interest is on medical interventions for overweight children, particularly from the health care providers' perspective.
Contact: Katelyn Hanzel, [email protected]

Christopher Taylor, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Dietetics and Family Medicine
Ohio State University
Dr. Taylor can talk about childhood obesity and the link between food insecurity and metabolic syndromes in children. He recently studied the impact of food insecurity in children, finding that that household food insecurity dramatically increases the likelihood of metabolic diseases in children, with many showing chronic disease markers before they graduate from high school. The data revealed that participants from households with marginally low, low and very low food security were 33 to 44 percent more likely to be overweight. Children with very low to marginal food security were also 1.5 times more likely to meet the criteria for central obesity. This is important because lack of basic access to food affects 14.3 percent of all U.S. households and 19.5 percent of households with children. The release can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/nrm3bah and the study here: http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2432876.
Contact: Lauren Brush, [email protected]

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