Public seminar - Physical Activity and Nutrition

This public seminar hosted by the University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition presents A/Prof Rodney Lyn from Georgia State University, USA.

The application of public health lessons to stemming the obesity epidemic

 

Associate Professor Rodney Lyn

Georgia State University, USA

This presentation will examine the experience accrued by the public health community while tackling a variety of public health issues where there has been some success and identify how this experience might inform current efforts to stem the obesity epidemic. Thus, the presentation will reflect on previous public health efforts, identify key factors and domains of potential use in obesity prevention, and review progress and challenges within each. Imbedded within this presentation is a reflection on my earliest intervention work, Go Girls: development of a community-based nutrition and physical activity program for overweight African-American girls. Concluding principles will be provided to inform the development of effective public health approaches to obesity prevention.

Rodney Lyn serves as Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. His research is focused on childhood obesity prevention, school and community health, and the reduction of health disparities. He has special interest in identifying effective policy and system approaches to increasing physical activity and healthy eating in children and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on these topics. Over the past 6 years, Dr. Lyn has led or contributed to funded grants totalling $10.2M from federal and state agencies, foundations, and not-for-profit organizations. Since 2004, he has directed the Policy Leadership for Active Youth (PLAY) initiative, a collaborative effort between GSU and statewide partners to address childhood obesity by connecting an emerging evidence-base to practice and policy. PLAY has served a vital role around policy change efforts on physical activity and childhood obesity prevention in Georgia. Dr. Lyn has advised and worked closely with state agencies, professional associations, not-for-profits, and the philanthropic community to prevent childhood obesity. He is an active member of the Physical Activity Policy Research Network (PAPRN), supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He serves as Deputy Director of the NIH-funded Center of Excellence on Health Disparities at Georgia State University.

Dr. Lyn teaches graduate courses including Public Health Policy, Foundations of Public Health Administration and Policy, and Childhood Obesity Prevention. He holds graduate degrees in Educational Policy Studies (PhD) and Exercise Science (MS) from Georgia State University.

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