1. ^*Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland;
2. ^†Clinical Trials Branch, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland.

Correspondence: Wendy L. Johnson-Taylor Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, 2 Democracy Plaza, Room 635, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, MSC 5461, Bethesda, MD 20892-5461. E-mail: wj50v@nih.gov

^*The costs of publication of this article were defrayed, in part, by the payment of page charges. This article must, therefore, be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Abstract

The number of children at risk for overweight and the number of overweight children are increasing and have become a serious public health concern. Interventions that could be applied at the population level have not been proven effective. The development of effective strategies is thought to be hampered by the lack of understanding of which behavioral and environmental factors need to be modified. On June 14 and 15, 2004, the NIH held a meeting of experts to discuss the issue of modifiable determinants of obesity in children and adolescents. Included were presentations on interventions among children that have been proven effective, dietary and physical activity behavioral determinants, physical, social, and family environmental determinants, and the quality of measures of determinants and correlates of overweight.