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May 10, 2012 HBO, Comcast, the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC) and the Chicago Department of Public Health hosted the Chicago premiere of The Weight of the Nation, a four-part documentary series about the obesity crisis in the United States. In cooperation with the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, the HBO Documentary Films series features case studies, interviews with the nation’s leading experts, and individuals and their families struggling with obesity.
The documentary series is the centerpiece of a project that encourages Americans to watch the films, learn about obesity and take action. The first film, Consequences, examines the scope of the obesity epidemic and explores the serious health consequences of being overweight or obese. Following the screening of Consequences at the Field Museum, Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, MD, MPH, emerita professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and founder of CLOCC, moderated a panel discussion with Bechara Choucair, MD, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Feinberg School, and Adam Becker, PhD, MPH, executive director of CLOCC and interim co-director of the Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program of Children's Hospital of Chicago Research Center.
Christoffel began the discussion by encouraging audience members to focus on positive actions we can take to combat obesity. She led off with questions to the panel. The audience followed with questions including how individuals can overcome obstacles from powerful organizations such as the food industry and what the City of Chicago is doing to combat obesity in poor neighborhoods.
During the panel discussion, comments via Twitter were displayed on the screen. The audience was reminded to take action in their homes, workplaces, communities and schools.
For more information about CLOCC, please visit the website at www.clocc.net.
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