The 2008 Youth Policy Summit on Obesity and Healthy Lifestyles in America will focus squarely on the reality that most Americans do not maintain healthy diets or adequate levels of physical activity, leading to increasing incidence of overweight and obesity despite the availability of information about healthy lifestyles.  Participants will investigate evidence-based strategies for changing behavior, and identifying promising approaches to reducing overweight and obesity in the United States among three population segments:  children, ages 2-11; teens, ages 12-18; and adults, ages 19 and older.   

Students will be asked to consider challenges and solutions along a three-part continuum of behavior change:  information (what do people need to know, and do they have access to it?), education (how can they learn to use the information appropriately?) and inspiring action (what will motivate people to act on what they know?).  Having information does not mean a person knows what to do with it, and being educated in its use does not mean it will be acted upon.  Participating students will analyze barriers to behavior change (e.g., emotional and psychological factors, time scarcity, language barriers, access to healthy foods, cost, community safety concerns), and outline the highest priority strategies for each of the population segments mentioned above.

Key information about weight management needs to be conveyed to members of society in effective ways.  A great deal of information regarding physical activity, nutrition, wellness and obesity prevention, is already available to consumers, through marketing (both commercial and social), food labeling, school wellness programs, educational curricula, and community/public health initiatives.  Students will assess how information is disseminated, analyze some of the current educational methods used to teach the public about healthy lifestyles, determine the relative effectiveness of these methods, and recommend priority approaches (new or existing).

Lastly, students will rely on their acquired knowledge and best judgment to recommend strategies for motivating greater numbers of consumers to act upon this knowledge to manage weight effectively.  Recommendations may focus on one part of the information-education-action continuum, may combine parts or may emphasize one over the others.    The students will be free to direct recommendations toward any target audience, including government policy-makers, industry, educators, advocacy organizations, media, parent groups, youth-serving organizations, or individual consumers.

The goal of the program is to complete the circle between knowledge and action, in the hope of improving the overall quality of life for today’s students and tomorrow’s society. 

The students’ recommendations will be shared broadly with policy-makers, industry executives, academic scientists, and public health advocates.