More than 250 state and local policy-makers and childhood obesity prevention advocates participated in Leadership for Healthy Communities' (LHC) second childhood obesity prevention summit, which was held May 7-8, 2009, in the nation's capital. The summit theme was "Building a Bridge to Policy Action."

The event called on policy leaders nationwide to advance healthy eating and active living options in their communities.  

Special emphasis was placed on collaborative state and community policy approaches that address childhood obesity among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Speakers and panelists included Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A. and representatives from the federal government, states, cities, counties, and school districts, who presented and shared their innovative work in building healthier communities for children and their families. 

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) provided remarks during the summit's opening panel, The Federal Agenda: What are the Opportunities for Healthy Communities?  "If you want real change, you do it from the bottom up, neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community," said Harkin, adding that states and counties have become incubators for a lot of innovation that the federal government can help support.

Immediately following Harkin's address was a panel discussion on the federal agenda that included Martha Coven, the White House special assistant to the president for mobility and opportunity; Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest; Derek Scholes, government relations manager with the American Heart Association; and Margo Pedroso, policy manager with the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership.

Other plenary sessions addressed the economics of obesity, innovative partnerships and youth perspectives on childhood obesity prevention. In addition, four concurrent workshops focused on addressing childhood obesity prevention in rural and racial/ethnic minority communities and through the built and social environments. To view the presentations from these sessions, click here. 

The five leaders who were honored with our Healthy Communities Leadership award during the first evening of the summit were Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, NY; Superintendent Roel Gonzalez, Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District, TX; Mayor Darwin Hindman, Columbia, MO; Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco, CA; and Mayor Claude Ramsey, Hamilton County, TN. For more information about the award winners and the ceremony, click here.

See below to view the full conference agenda, videos, photos, presentations and event coverage to learn more about the Leadership for Healthy Communities 2009 Childhood Obesity Prevention Summit.     

Conference Agenda

View the full two-day summit agenda: Leadership for Healthy Communities' 2009 Childhood Obesity Prevention Summit Agenda.

Healthy Communities Leadership Award

During the summit, Leadership for Healthy Communities presented its first-ever Healthy Communities Leadership Award to five policy-makers for their commitment to childhood obesity prevention. Read about the award winners and watch their award speeches.  

Speaker Presentations

Check out the PowerPoint presentations from the Childhood Obesity Prevention Summit panelists and speakers. View the presentations.

Video Gallery

Photo Gallery - Slide Show

Event Coverage

What did the media, bloggers and our grantee organizations say about the event? View the coverage.