Links between environment and obesity to be topic of Pediatric Healthy Weight Summit

The role of environmental factors, particularly exposure to certain plastics and pesticides while women are pregnant, in the development of childhood obesity will be the topic of the fifth annual Pediatric Healthy Weight Summit March 6-7 in Greenville.

The event, titled “When Environment and Biology Collide: What Everyone Needs to Know about the Impact on Obesity from Pregnancy through Adolescence and Beyond,” will be at the Greenville Hilton. The first day will begin at 8 a.m. and wind up with a 3:45 p.m. poster session. The second day will be from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

The first day of the conference will examine how man-made surroundings, exposure to common environmental compounds such as plastics and pesticides, and the manipulation of the in-utero environment may help lead to obesity and obesity-related illnesses. The second day will feature workshops on ways to assess and mitigate the effects of these environmental influences that might cause people to gain weight.

The registration fee is $105 each day or $155 for both days. The event is sponsored by the ECU Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the N.C. Biotechnology Center, the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation, Physicians East, the ECU Department of Exercise and Sport Science, the Brody School of Medicine Medical Student Council and the Eastern Area Health Education Center.

For more information, contact Yancey Crawford at (252) 744-5061 or at crawfordy@ecu.edu.