The Research Foundation of The International Life Sciences Institute commissioned a series of original papers on obesity's causes and health consequences among children.

They were published in a March 1998 supplement to Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The complete supplement is available online.

The International Life Sciences Institute is a nonprofit, worldwide foundation established to advance the understanding of scientific issues relating to nutrition, food safety, toxicology, risk assessment, and the environment.

Key Results

Under the grant, the institute:

• Commissioned articles by experts from a variety of disciplines that examined the following:
  • The epidemiology of childhood obesity.
  • Obesity's medical and psychosocial effects on children.
  • Possible reasons for the recent increase in overweight children.
  • How dietary and physical activity patterns develop in children.
  • Techniques for measuring body composition and dietary and physical activity patterns.
  • Strategies for preventing/treating childhood obesity.
  • Recommendations for further research and action.
• Distributed 3,500 copies of the supplement to Institute branches, trustees, scientific advisors, membership corporations, the public health nutrition practice group of the American Dietetic Association, an International Food Information Council media mailing list.
• Provided the supplement to attendees at various exhibits, conferences and ILSI meetings.

Funding

A $25,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) from December 1997 to November 1998 helped support the project. The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta also provided approximately $50,000 in funding.