Staff from the Tufts University’s Children In Balance project invited participants in a two-year replication study to the University in Boston for a two-day Leadership Institute on May 10th and 11th, 2010. Marcia Picard, who was project manager for the Children In Balance (CIB) project in the Fall River schools, represented one of the three experimental sites that also included communities in Florida and Pennsylvania. Representatives from Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois represented the three control sites. All had the opportunity to share their experiences from the past two years in addressing childhood obesity through a variety of fitness and nutrition interventions. The experimental communities developed HEAT Club and worked on school department Wellness Policies, among other activities, in an effort to change systems and policies to support healthier lifestyles among children in grades one through three. Leaders also heard from a number of national experts on the subject before returning home.  For further information about the project, contact Project Manager Marcia Picard at 508-324-2228.

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(Top row, left) Dr. Chistina Economos, Associate Professor in the Freidman School of Nutrition at Tufts and director of the Balance Project, talks about the systems changes necessary to affect childhood obesity on the community level. (Top row, center) Tufts University Research Assistant Bridgid Junot speaks to Marcia Picard during a break. (Top row, right) Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., of the John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Prevention, summarizes the latest findings on the benefits of activity on children's weight gain. (Middle row, left) Marcia and Pam Duffy of Pennsylvania share a laugh before Max Fripp of PlayWorks leads the group in some children's games. (Bottom row, left) Pedestrian advocate and public health authority Mark Fenton talks to the group about environmental changes that can help communities address the lack of exercise. (Bottom row, center) Ms. Picard leads the group in a group stretching exercise between sessions. (Bottom row, right) Jessica Collins, Director of Special Initiatives for Partners for a Healthier Community in Springfield, describes the development of the Shape Up Somerville program upon which Children In Balance is based.