Experts Available to Discuss Weight Management for Toddlers.

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TOPIC: While it has yet to be proven whether or not obesity programs focused on toddlers are effective, numerous programs are being developed across the United States, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found obesity rates in children aged 2 to 5 years old increased to 12.4 percent for 2003 through 2006. Health industry experts say obesity has increased among toddlers due to junk food being readily available and poor eating habits. Some pediatricians have seen an increase of Type II diabetes and high cholesterol in children as young as 5 years.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Dr. Anne Hermann's mission is to provide patients with the best medical care and education for maximizing health through nutrition, lifestyle changes and other noninvasive treatments before turning to medication or surgery, for both health and aesthetics. She is the only double degreed doctor in nutrition and internal medicine, in the bay area. Dr. Hermann graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey as a member of the Medical Honor Society. She completed her residency at Columbia University Hospital in New York, where she also served as Chief Resident. She received her training in acupuncture at the UCLA Medical School in a program that is only available to medical doctors. She passed the rigorous board exam for Physician Nutrition Specialists in 2004.

Dr. Hermann's goal is to provide patients with quality conventional and alternative therapies. As a research scientist and board certified internal medicine physician, Dr. Hermann's practice combines state-of-the-art, modern medicine with holistic treatments. She advocates alternative treatments that have been proven to be safe. Often patients can reduce their medication or avoid unnecessary surgery with positive lifestyle changes. Acupuncture, hypnotherapy and nutrition are used to augment conventional treatments to maximize health.

In just four short years, Dr. Hermann's practice has grown to three offices to serve the bay area; Tampa, St. Petersburg and South Pasadena. With childhood obesity reaching epidemic proportions, she is expanding her practice to include pediatric nutrition with the goal of treating overweight children using non-prescription therapies. She can also treat acne successfully without medication.

PR Contact: Andy Bowen, 813-251-8720, [e-mail]

Dr. Daniel Kirschenbaum is Clinical Director and Chief Program Officer of Wellspring. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois and California, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School, Fellow and Diplomate in Clinical Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association and former president of its Division of Exercise and Sport Psychology. He has served as a consultant to the United States Olympic Committee, the National Basketball Association, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the Chicago Bears, numerous professional journals, and several major corporations. Dr. Kirschenbaum has provided addresses at many professional conferences worldwide, received numerous grants for research, and published 9 books and 125 journal articles on weight loss, sport psychology, and related topics.

His research and publications include: Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity (1987); Weight Loss Through Persistence (1994); The 9 Truths About Weight Loss (2000); and The Healthy Obsession Program: Smart Weight Loss Instead of Low-Carb Lunacy (2006)

PR Contact: Meredith Schneider, 919-277-1165, [e-mail]

Renowned clinical psychologist, Gerard J. Musante, Ph.D. founded Structure House in 1977 and understands firsthand the struggle faced by overweight people. After spending his overweight adolescent years trying countless diets that never worked, he devoted his professional life to developing and teaching the principles of behavior modification for overweight people. Today, his internationally respected weight control program, Structure House, has helped more than 30,000 people change their attitudes, perceptions and lifestyles with diet, exercise and education. Structure House is a residential center for weight control and lifestyle change in Durham, N.C. Dr. Musante was the first person to adapt the principles of behavior modification to the eating habits of significantly overweight people and food abusers alike. Thousands of people have benefitted from his methods and guidance at Structure House. Participants learn why they have been making negative food choices and move on to learn about taking personal responsibility for their food choices and habits to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

A respected leader in the field, Dr. Musante testified as an expert witness on obesity before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in October 2003 in support of Sen. Mitch McConnell's Commonsense Consumption Act. He also serves on the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission's Study Committee for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight/Obesity. Dr. Musante is the author of The Structure House Weight Loss Plan (2007). Additionally, he has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsweek and People magazine. Dr. Musante has appeared on national television shows, including a feature segment on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, and with Morley Safer on the acclaimed CBS news program "60 Minutes" as well as "Donahue" and "Good Morning America." He wrote the introduction to James Coco's book, If I Can, You Can. Dr. Musante's road to personal success - the loss of 50 pounds - and professional success began when he undertook the study of obesity as a psychologist at Duke University Medical Center. There he developed the techniques that not only enabled him to lose the weight, but to keep it off. He says, "Once I realized that my relationship with food needed to change, and that food was for nutrition, not for comfort and support, I lost the weight and kept it off." Dr. Musante received his professional training from New York University, the University of Tennessee, Duke University Medical Center and Temple University Medical School. He is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy. He has served on the editorial board of Addictive Behavior, and as a consultant to the National Board of Medical Examiners. He also continues to serve as a consulting professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences for Duke University Medical Center and the Duke University School of Medicine.

PR Contact: Meredith Schneider, 919-277-1165, [e-mail]

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