“We spend enormous energy helping to treat people who are obese, but we don’t talk a lot about the multiple causes,” Syme told attendees at the University of Miami Global Business Forum, held Jan. 12–14, 2011. “We need to pay more attention to prevention, and we need to change the national culture about obesity.”

The panel session, titled “Promoting Wellness and Preventing Obesity: Public Private Partnership” explored how effective partnerships can help prevent obesity and promote healthy lifestyles. To reinforce the message, exercise physiology students from the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences at UM’s School of Education provided health and fitness screenings prior to the session.

Panelists (L-r) Arlette Perry, Chair, Department of   Kinesiology and Sports Sciences, School of   Education, University of Miami; S. Leonard Syme,   Professor Emeritus, Epidemiology and Community   Health/Human Development, University of   California, Berkeley; Lauryn Williams, Olympic Gold   Medalist

“When we partner with other entities, we understand the importance of taking it slowly and doing it right,” said Isaac Prilleltensky, dean of the School of Education and the Erwin and Barbara Mautner Chair in Community Well-Being. “You have to get to know each other and give voice to the parties, or the collaboration will not succeed.”

Prilleltensky noted that about two-thirds of American adults and a third of American children are overweight or obese. “Our country spends almost $150 billion every year treating obesity-related diseases, most of which are preventable,” he said.

A comprehensive approach is required to attack childhood obesity, said Arlette Perry, professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences. “Forget genetics or the environment,” she said. “It’s everything, from sitting at a computer to advertisements on TV to cutbacks in physical education in school. We have to look at all the aspects.”

Perry has developed the School of Education’s THINK program (Translational Health in Nutrition and Kinesiology) to engage students on multiple levels. “THINK is all about empowerment, letting kids make intelligent decisions about their health,” she said. “As we did weight training, we showed them metabolic charts so they could see what was happening in their bodies. When they ran sprints or long-distance races, we showed them changes in their lactate levels. We had them bring in a favorite food and identify all the sugars and fats in the label. It gets students, and their families, involved with their health.”

Perry concluded her remarks by noting that new coalitions and novel cooperative ventures are essential in the fight against obesity.

Barbara E. Kahn, who until recently was dean of the School of Business, pointed to the ways packaging and branding influence consumer food choices. “For marketers, perceptions are more important than reality,” she said. For instance, ground beef can be labeled as 75 percent lean or 25 percent fat. “Consumers said the 75 percent lean beef tasted better, even through there was no difference between the two.”

Other studies show the importance of perceptual cues. Consumers drink less liquid in a tall glass compared with a short one, and eat fewer chicken wings if the bones are left on the table, Kahn said. “Even the placement of the product image on the package can influence eating,” she added, noting that people eat fewer cookies when they see a “heavy” image at the bottom of a box. “Now, just imagine what would happen if marketers were motivated to make you eat healthier, like marketing carrots as junk food. That can really nudge those perceptions.”

Chef Michel Nischan, CEO and president of Wholesome Wave, is focused on helping residents of impoverished urban neighborhoods make healthy food choices. “It takes both access and affordability,” he said. “You can’t just put in a big-box grocery story without looking at the economic factors as well. Someone who has only $2 to spend on dinner will buy an inexpensive cup of noodle soup for her family rather than expensive fresh fruit or broccoli.”

Through his foundation, Nischan launched a “Double Wave Coupon Program” that doubles the value of food stamps when they’re used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets. “That means more servings of healthy foods for families and increased agricultural production for farmers,” he said.

In New England, Wholesome Wave is piloting a “prescription program” with primary care clinics, comparing families whose members eat daily servings of fruit and vegetables with control group families that do not. “We measure them monthly for high blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and other health indicators,” Nischan said. “We want to show that food can be a measurable means of preventing problems and promoting wellness.”

America’s overweight children have “an energy gap,” according to Richie Woodworth, president of running shoe maker Saucony, and president of the board of the Saucony Run for Good Foundation, which assists community organizations that promote running and healthy lifestyle programs for youth. “They consume more calories than they burn off, and as a result that extra weight piles up in teens,” he said.

Citing a recent study by the American Medical Association, Woodworth added that 70 percent of obese teens remained obese as adults, resulting in long-term health problems and higher health care costs. “Strategies to prevent excess weight gain during childhood may be more effective than treating overweight teens,” he said. “You have to get them when they are young, and right at the top of the list is increased physical activity.”

Two-time Olympian Lauren Williams, a former UM student, said she started running at age 9 without realizing it would change her life. “I was faster than other kids my age, and my mother instilled the importance of education,” she said. “I was very grateful to come here and get that education, before leaving as a junior for the Olympics.”

Now, Williams is a life skills coach and community coordinator who is active with the Run for Good Foundation. “I am also challenging myself to eat healthy foods, and blogging about my experiences,” she said. “I’m trying to spread the word that it’s better to pick up an apple when you want a snack, rather than a bag of chips.”