Shiriki Kumanyika, Professor of Epidemiology and Associate Dean for Health Promotion and Health Prevention and Virginia A. Stallings, Jean A. Cortner Endowed Chair in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Penn and Professor of Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, will be part of panel at special public session, Understanding Obesity and Childhood at the 2008 American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston.

Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart. Play Hard.â„¢ a community-based environmental change intervention to prevent obesity in culturally diverse, early elementary school children reduced weight gain over one school year. The multi-faceted program was designed and implemented by researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and the Tufts University School of Medicine in close collaboration with the community.