Early Origins of Child Obesity: Bridging Disciplines and Phases of Development

描述（由申请人提供）：会议目标。本次会议将制定与儿童肥胖早期起源相关的下一步研究议程。这项研究议程将包括研究一系列因素（从遗传决定因素到社会决定因素），从产前生活到7岁。会议将提供一个独特的机会，促进各种研究人员之间的交流和规划未来的工作，他们的工作分别针对生命早期的不同时期。程序。在两天的时间里，演讲者将根据年龄范围组织讨论现有的关键研究主题：产前，生命的头两年和2-7岁。在每个年龄范围内，选择的主题是当前最突出的主题。这些包括，例如，LGA和母亲肥胖，胎儿异常生长的生物标志物，营养，婴儿/儿童因素，父母/家庭因素和活动因素（包括环境）。在对文献进行了详尽的搜索之后，确定了演讲者；他们都是这个领域的领导者。会议可能促进的发展或贡献。会议将为综合调查开辟一条道路，从而降低儿童肥胖的患病率、严重程度、合并症和差异。它既应影响研究者发起的研究和相关的资助提案，也应影响各种研究资助来源的提案。2008年的一份报告确定了儿童肥胖研究的优先事项，确定了产前和儿童早期的优先事项。（Byrne et al. 2008）在儿童肥胖预防和控制方面取得突破需要整合这些传统分歧的知识。推迟这种桥梁建设可能会导致研究陷入僵局，并减缓进展。对科学界有用。事实上，任何一个研究者——甚至是一个研究小组——都不可能掌握与儿童早期肥胖发展有关的全部知识。拟议的会议将提供一个跨学科的共享知识库，因此将为不同的研究人员提供洞察他们自己工作中的差距的机会。此外，它将提供网络和联系，以填补今后的空白。最后，它将产生一个研究议程，该议程将建立在所有相关学科的基础上，因此可以帮助指导未来几年的跨学科工作。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Conference Objectives. This conference will forge a next-step research agenda related to the early origins of childhood obesity. This research agenda will include working with an array of factors (from genetic determinants to societal ones) along a continuum from prenatal life to age 7. The conference will offer a unique opportunity to facilitate communication and planning of future work among a variety of researchers whose work separately addresses different periods in early life. Program. Over the span of 2 days, speakers will address existing, critical research topics in sessions organized by age range: prenatal, the first two years of life, and ages 2-7 years. Within each age range, the selected topics are those that are currently most salient. These include, for example, LGA and maternal adiposity, Biomarkers of abnormal fetal growth, Nutrition, Infant/child factors, Parent/ household factors, and Activity factors (including the environment). Speakers were identified after an exhaustive search of the literature; all are leaders in the field. Developments or contributions the conference might stimulate. The conference will set a path for integrated investigation that can lead to reduced prevalence, severity, co-morbidities, and disparities in childhood obesity. It should affect both investigator initiated research and related grant proposals, and also calls for proposals from varied research funding sources. Timeliness A 2008 report that identifies priorities in childhood obesity research has identified prenatal and early childhood top priorities. (Byrne et al. 2008) Breakthroughs in childhood obesity prevention and control will need to integrate knowledge across these traditional divides. Postponement of this bridge-building risks dead-end research and slowed progress. Usefulness to the scientific community. It is virtually impossible for any one investigator-or even one investigative team-to master the full range of knowledge relevant to the development of early childhood obesity. The proposed conference will provide a shared knowledge base that crosses disciplines, and so will provide varied investigators with insight into gaps in their own work. Further, it will provide for networking and linkage that can fill those gaps going forward. Finally, it will produce a research agenda that will build on all the relevant disciplines and that can, as a result, help to guide cross-disciplinary work in the coming years. Public Health Relevance: Childhood obesity prevalence has risen to unprecedented levels. Obese children are likely to suffer lifelong obesity and associated co-morbidities, with huge tolls to individuals, families, communities, and the health care system. Breakthroughs in childhood obesity prevention and control requires integration of knowledge across traditional area of inquiry, defined by subject age and investigator discipline. The proposed conference will convene investigators across these divides. It will establish a shared information base and research agenda to hasten identification of steps in the obesity causal sequence that are amenable to interruption. The result should be better research and so improved primary prevention and slowed progression of childhood obesity.