Mt. Sinai Early Childhood Obesity
Prevention Summit 
Recognizing that the rate of obesity in early childhood has risen dramatically in recent years, The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation hosted an early childhood obesity summit to begin a community dialogue on the need for effective interventions that address primary prevention of obesity for children ages 2 – 5. The Foundation has been a strategic investor in this realm, having worked with partners to develop several initiatives to address early childhood obesity in the urban community.
The Summit occurred in conjunction with Mt. Sinai’s Annual Meeting on June 18, 2012, and featured David L. Katz, MD, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. Known internationally for expertise in nutrition, weight management, and chronic disease prevention, as well as integrative care and patient-centered care models, Dr. Katz has consulted on obesity control and chronic disease prevention with the World Health Organization; National Cancer Institute; National Governors Association; Health Canada; the Health Ministry of Israel; the Institute of Medicine; several U.S. Governors; the US Secretary of Health; and the FDA. In 2011, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Childhood Obesity.
David L. Katz, MD, Keynote Speaker
Some 250 early childhood and health professionals attended the Summit. Follow-up discussions are currently underway, and a blog is being created to keep the conversation going among Summit participants. See the Summit’s agenda below.
To view a portion of Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation President Mitchell Balk’s opening remarks at the Summit, click here.
Summit AGENDA
Registration and Pre-Summit Exhibits
I. Welcome Mitchell Balk, president, The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
II. Keynote Address: Feet, Forks and the Fate of Our Families
David L. Katz, MD, founding director, Yale University Prevention Research Center
III. Bringing It Home, An Analysis of Early Childhood Obesity in Ohio
Leona Cuttler, MD, director, The Center for Child Health & Policy, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital (UH) & Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRU)
FITNESS BREAK (Tara Taylor and YMCA - We Run This City students)
IV. Where Do We Start? Components of Early Childhood Interventions
Sandra Redmond, PhD, director of education, The Children’s Museum of Cleveland
Robert Needlman, MD, behavioral pediatrician, MetroHealth Med. Center/CWRU
V. Emerging Best Practices – What’s Working on the Ground in Cleveland
1. Breast for Success, a program of University Hospitals/Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Department of Health’s MomsFirst™, Community Endeavors Foundation
Lydia Furman, MD, pediatrician, UH/Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital/CWRU
2. Jump To It, a program of The Children’s Museum of Cleveland, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, The Cleveland Metropolitan School District, The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
Dr. Cuttler, Dr. Redmond, et al.
3. Food Is Knowledge, a program of the Cleveland Clinic (CCF)
Jim Perko, CCF executive chef, Persis A. Sosiak, CCF director, Dept. of
Public Health & Research
4. Child Care and Universal Pre-K Settings, An Update from Starting Point
Billie Osborne-Fears, executive director, Starting Point
VI. It Takes a Village: Towards a Communitywide Dialogue/Plan of Action
Amy R. Sheon, PhD, MPH, executive director
Case Western Reserve University - Urban Health Initiative, moderator
Patricia L. Rideout, JD, administrator
Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services, opening remarks
Panel of Program Presenters with Attendee Participation
VII. Closing Remarks
Mitchell Balk