Chairs
Current SIG Co-Chairs:
Christine SanGiovanni MD, MSCR
Amy Beck MD, MPH
Amy Christison, MD
Current SIG Mentor:
Sandra Hassink, MD
The mission of the Obesity SIG is to connect individuals who share an interest in childhood obesity and to share resources, research, and best practices.
Current SIG Goals
- Provide a forum for highlighting and discussing important pediatric environmental health issues.
- Serve as a network to connect health professionals with an interest in pediatric environmental health.
- Gauge awareness among health professionals of the environment as a contributor to children’s health.
Annual Summary
APA Obesity SIG 2022 Virtual Meeting at PAS
Examining Trends in Child Obesity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Potential for Widening Disparities & Solution-Oriented Strategies to Power Forward
Disparities in obesity are persistent and pervasive among Black, Latinx and low-income children and families living in the U.S. In 2022, we gathered experts Drs. Woolford, Koebnick, and Hernandez to facilitate discussion of epidemiologic trends in childhood obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic and solution-oriented approaches to address racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in obesity disparities. These leaders offered short presentations and helped lead small group breakout discussions on their relevant content areas.
Dr. Susan Woolford is an Associate Professor in the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Center in the Division of General Pediatrics at the University of Michigan. Her clinical interests are childhood obesity prevention and treatment. Her NIH-funded research focuses on the use of new technologies to enhance provider-patient communication about weight-related lifestyle choices. Due to her innovative work in this arena, Dr. Woolford served as the founding Chair of the Obesity Society’s eHealth/ mHealth Section, as a Co-Director for the Children’s Hospital Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Expert Exchange on Childhood Obesity and as a member of the Advisory Board for the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for a Healthy Childhood Weight.
Dr. Corinna Koebnick is a nutrition scientist and obesity researcher whose work focuses on the prevention and treatment of obesity in children, adolescents, and young adults. Her research examines critical issues such as the health consequences of obesity and optimization of health services provided to individuals with obesity. Strong background in obesity and chronic disease epidemiology and has previously led the efforts for Southern California to build a Kaiser Permanente Research Bank across all regions of Kaiser Permanente.
Dr. Raquel G. Hernandez is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine based at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg Florida. A diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, Dr. Hernandez, has led the Healthy Weight Initiative at JHACH since 2010. This initiative is a multi-tiered program consisting of clinical, educational, population health and research focused efforts addressing pediatric obesity. Dr. Hernandez also serves as the founder of the Center for Pediatric Health Equity Research at JHACH which seeks to grow and build research efforts targeting pediatric health disparities within the Tampa Bay region.
