DIPLOMATES
IN PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

23th Annual Symposium

May 24, 2008
Washington, DC

Daniel E. Hale, M.D. Presents :

I DARE YOU: 5 things families can do to lower their child's risk of obesity

The worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity is now well documented and has been extensively discussed. The short and long term morbidity and mortality associated with obesity are widely recognized - including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, etc. Type 2 diabetes, long thought of as a disease of the older adult, is now commonly seen in adolescents. Effective strategies for treating overweight children have been delineated; however, these approaches are not widely available, are time consuming, and perhaps, most importantly, are rarely reimbursable by third party payers. Most practicing health care providers have little training relevant to obesity prevention or treatment. Thus, we are ill-prepared to respond to the most prevalent health threat in our society.

As health care providers, we have a responsibility to educate our patients about their health risks, and steps than can be taken to lower these risks. In addition, as voters, we have the duty to advocate for policies and activities that have the potential to improve individual and community health. This presentation will include a general review of the problem of childhood obesity and then focus on practical, evidence-based advice that can be used to educate families during health-related encounters. In addition, a perspective on "pro-health" environmental change initiatives that have the potential for reducing the prevalence of obesity will be reviewed.

Biographical Information

Daniel E. Hale, M.D. is a Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, and Principal Investigator for the US Hispanic Nutrition Research and Education Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is also the Medical Director of the Chromosome 18 Research Center at the Health Science Center. He earned an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Texas A&M University, completed a medical degree at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, did a Pediatric Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and pursued specialty training in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He then joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he remained until moving back to Texas in 1994. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters concerning diabetes, fatty acid metabolism, chromosomal defects and growth disorders. He is a member of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, and other societies and boards. He is the San Antonio Principal Investigator for 3 NIH sponsored multicenter trials: 1) TODAY, the first of kind, type 2 treatment trial for youth with type 2 diabetes, 2) HEALTHY, the type 2 prevention trial for middle school students abd3) TrialNet, the type 1 diabetes natural history, prevention and intervention trials.