3rd Scandinavian Pediatric Obesity Conference - Idefics study

3 rd announcement
3 rd
SPOC © 2008
Malmö • Sweden
March 6 th to 7 th

SPOC
Welcome to Malmö and the 3 rd
Scandinavian Pediatric Obesity Conference!
We would like to invite you to
an open, dynamic conference in
Malmö, Sweden. The conference
will focus on practical measures
in the prevention and treatment
of pediatric obesity.
Leading international experts
will provide new insights into the
management of this challenging
problem.
Carl-Erik Flodmark, MD PhD
President of 3 rd SPOC © ,
Childhood Obesity Unit,
University Hospital Malmö,
Sweden.

Participants
Doctors, nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists,
and researchers in the field
of pediatric obesity.
Program
Practical Action in Prevention and
Treatment
• Treatment: What’s next Drugs, vaccine,
or surgery
• How can we use prevention in practice
• Diet and exercise programs: what to
choose
Conference Venue
The conference will be held at Slagthuset
(historical slaughterhouse from 1904,
now a conference and entertainment
facility), located just a five-minute walk
from the central railway station and
downtown Malmö.
Venue
Malmö is an international city and the
commercial hub of southern Sweden.
You can easily reach Malmö by train from
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, which is
just 30 minutes away. Malmö’s long history
is well integrated with modern life
and immigration has made Malmö a multicultural
city. Whether visiting Malmö
for business or pleasure, the city has
much to offer. Its nickname, “The City
of Parks,” speaks for itself, as does the
long sandy beach by Ribersborg (known
as “the Scandinavian Copacabana”), and
the unique Öresund Bridge that takes
you straight to Copenhagen, Denmark.
For more information about Malmö, see
www.malmo.com and www.malmo.se
Copenhagen is the metropolitan capital
of Denmark with several historical and
modern attractions, a rich cultural life,
and a harbor clean enough for swimming.
When visiting the capital, don’t miss the
impressive new opera house,
Christiansborg Palace, and one of the
foremost characters from the fairy tale
world of Hans Christian Andersen, the
Little Mermaid. For more information on
this exciting city see
www.visitcopenhagen.dk
Language
English is the official language of the
conference. Simultaneous interpretation
is not provided.
Social programme
Gala dinner and entertainment are
included in the registration fee.

Gala dinner
The Gala dinner will take place at
Citadellet in the city of Landskrona
(situated approximately 40 minutes
north of Malmö). Citadellet was built
as a fortress in the middle of the 16th
century. Today this beautiful building
together with it´s surroundings is a
historical landmark which attracts plenty
of tourists every year. The theme for our
Gala dinner will be something out of the
ordinary. Togheter we will travel back
to the 16th century where we are going
to enjoy an ancient middle age dinner
typical for this epoch.
Abstract submission
Participants are requested to submit
abstracts online to:
spoc@childhoodobesity.info no later
than October 8 th 2007. Mailed printed
or faxed abstracts will not be accepted.
Please add whether the abstract is intended
for oral session or poster session.
Members of the Scientifi c Committee
will review the abstract. Corresponding
authors will be informed whether their
abstract has been accepted or rejected
by November 12 th 2007.
Presenting authors must pay an abstract
registration fee of € 50. This fee should
be paid together with the conference
registration fee. Abstracts will be published
as a supplement to the International
Journal of Pediatric Obesity. Authors may
fi nd detailed information about how to
prepare an abstract at the conference
website: www.childhoodobesity.info
Registration and Payment
Early registration fee: € 495
December 3 rd 2007
Regular registration fee: € 570
February 4 th 2008
On-site fee: € 630
after February 4 th 2008
Lunch, coffee breaks, gala dinner with
entertainment and one year
subscription of the
International Journal
of Pediatric Obesity
are included in
the registration fee.
Participants can register online at
www.childhoodobesity.info
The registration site will be available
from July 4 th 2007. Registration
received after February 4 th 2008, will be
processed as on-site registration.

Denmark
Copenhagen
Sweden
Scania
Accommodation
The registration fee does not include
accommodation. HRG Nordic has
reserved rooms at three hotels.
Hotel reservation procedures and
more information can be found at the
registration site. Comfort Hotel Malmö
and First Hotel Jörgen Kock are both
3-star hotels located 50 meters from the
venue. Scandic Kramer is a 4-star hotel
located in the city center, within walking
distance of the conference venue.
Terms of payment
We prefer payment by credit card.
Alternatively, HRG Nordic will send an
invoice following registration.
Please note that your participation
is only guaranteed when payment is
received. More information will be
available on the conference website.
Cancellation policy
Until December 17 th 2007:
50% refundable
Scandic Kramer
+46 (40) 693 54 00
http://www.scandic-hotels.se/kramer
After December 17 th 2007:
non-refundable
Dates to remember
Abstracts submission:
October 8 th 2007
Abstracts acceptance/rejection
notification letter:
November 12 th 2007
Early registration fee:
before December 3 rd 2007
Regular registration fee:
before February 4 th 2008
Comfort Price Hotel
+46 (40) 611 25 11
www.choicehotels.se
First Hotel Jörgen Kock
+46 (40) 10 18 00
www.firsthotels.com

Confirmed speakers
Lars Bo Andersen, Denmark
Lars Bo Andersen is professor at the Institute of Sport Sciences in
Oslo and part time at the University of Southern Denmark.
He has a background in exercise physiology, but has worked with
epidemiological studies for the last 25 years. Especially CVD risk
factors and the metabolic problems related to physical inactivity
and obesity in children has been the focus most of the time. A main aim has been to
use the physiological knowledge in the analysis of the epidemiological data. He has
conducted several longitudinal population studies in children in order to elucidate
how the metabolic problems start, and to come up with possible preventive strategies.
One of the later publications is a suggestion of physical activity guidelines for
children based on objectively assessed activity published in Lancet. Outside work he
is running, skiing and biking, and if time is left he built vintage cars or his house.
Richard L Atkinson, USA
Richard Atkinson is a US physician who has worked in obesity
research and treatment for over 30 years. After graduating from
the Medical College of Virginia, he served on the faculty of several
medical schools. His research focused on the mechanisms of
weight loss with obesity surgery and on drug treatment of obesity.
In recent years he described the first human virus to cause obesity and currently is
evaluating the role of human adenoviruses in the etiology and complications of obesity.
He is Editor of the International Journal of Obesity and Past President of NAASO,
ASCN, and the American Obesity Association. He is interested in obesity policy and
has advocated for young investigator programs nationally and internationally.
Inger Björk, Sweden
Inger Björck is professor of food related nutrition at the division
of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund University. Her
research topic has mainly focused on the impact of various food
factors or food properties on glycaemic regulation and risk factors
associated with the metabolic syndrome. In particular, she has
studied the role of various dietary carbohydrates. More recently there has also been
an emphasis on the potential differences in insulinogenic properties of milk- and
other food proteins. Prof Björck is managing director of a recently launched centre
of excellence in research and innovation “ANTIDIABETIC FOOD CENTRE” at Lund
University.

Corrado Cilio, Sweden
Corrado Cilio is an associate professor of Paediatric Immunology
at the Department of Clinical Sciences and Paediatrics, Malmö University
Hospital, Lund University, Sweden. Dr. Cilio’s main research
interest is to unravel the immunological mechanisms behind the
development of type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune disorders
with the overall objective to identify new strategies to prevent and cure these
diseases: “from the bench to the bedside”. Using both animal models and human
patients, Dr Cilio’s laboratory aims at identifying genetic and environmental factors
involved in diabetes susceptibility with major focus on the role of obesity and inflammation.
During the last 10 years Dr. Cilio has contributed in discovering several cellular
defects both in mice as well as in autoimmune patients and he has produced
genetic evidences that these phenomena were involved in diabetes pathogenesis.
Ingegerd Ericsson, Sweden
Ingegerd Ericsson, PhD in Education, is a senior lecturer in sport
sciences at the School of Teacher Education, Malmö University.
Her scientific interests include physical activity, motor development,
and motor skills in children. Two important projects have
played an important role in her research: “MUGI Motorisk Utveckling
som Grund för Inlärning” [Motor Development as Basis for Learning] and the
“Bunkeflo Project-promoting a healthy lifestyle”. In writing her doctoral thesis “Motor
skills, attention and academic achievements” she followed the pupils in the Bunkeflo
project during their first three years of school.
Mikael Fogelholm, Finland
Dr. Mikael Fogelholm has been the director of the UKK Institiute for
Health Promotion Research since 2001. Dr. Fogelholm is originally
a nutritionist, but has later specialized in the connections between
physical activity, nutrition and health. He is also interested in assessment
of physical activity and body composition. His research
publications include epidemiological settings, methodological studies and randomized
trials. He has also written several reviews and chapters in textbooks. He has
been the chair of the Finnish Association for the Study of Obesity in 2001-2003 and
he was the president of the European Congress on Obesity in Helsinki, 2003.

Bernard Gutin, USA
Bernard (Bob) Gutin, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Applied Physiology
from Teachers College, Columbia University (1991) and
Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics & Physiology from the Medical
College of Georgia (2005). He and his colleagues have conducted
studies in children about the relations among physical activity, diet,
body composition and health; he has published one book, and more than 175 scientific
papers and book chapters. At the SPOC meeting he will describe the rationale,
methods and results of the Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project; this obesity
prevention effort involved 600 third grade children in 18 schools, half of which were
provided with an after-school intervention for 3 years.
Claude Marcus, Sweden
Dr. Claude Marcus, MD and PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics and
head of the Pediatric Division at the Department of Clinical Science,
Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm,
Sweden. Dr. Marcus specializes in pediatric endocrinology
and is head of the Swedish National Childhood Obesity Center.
He also maintains a nationwide register for childhood obesity treatment. Current
research includes a large scale school-based prevention project, a national gastric
bypass program, and studies on obesity genetics and metabolism.
Luis A. Moreno, Spain
Luis A. Moreno is professor of Public Health at the University of
Zaragoza (Spain). He earned his MD and PhD at the same University.
He studied Human Nutrition and Public Health at the University of
Nancy, France. His research activities have been supported by
several grants from the Spanish Ministry of Health and the EU 6 th
Framework Programme (FOOD-CT-2005-007034, FOOD-CT-2006-016181). He is
author of more than 80 papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He is coordinator
of the EU project HELENA (Healthy lifestyle by nutrition in adolescence), supported by
the EU 6 th Framework Programme.
Fredrika Mårtensson, Sweden
Fredrika Mårtensson, PhD, is an environmental psychologist, senior
researcher and teacher at the master program “Nature, Garden
and Health” at the Swedish Agricultural University in Alnarp. Her
research focuses on children’s outdoor play and environments.
She has been investigating the correlations between the quality
of pre-school outdoor environments and several other health parameters together
with a team including specialists in landscape architecture and medicine. She has
shown that a better planning and design of our everyday environment can promote
children’s vigorous play and spontaneous physical activity. Of a more general

esearch interest are those restorative processes that are active during outdoor
stay and recreation.
Aviva Must, USA
Aviva Must, PhD is a nutritional epidemiologist and Professor of
Public Health and of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine, and
Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School at Tufts University in
Boston. Dr. Must’s research interests include the epidemiology of
obesity, with a focus on long-term physical and psychosocial health
consequences of childhood growth characteristics and obesity effects across the
lifespan, and identification of critical periods for increased risk of onset and obesity
co-morbidities. Her preventive intervention work includes research projects in
pre-school and primary school populations. Additional areas of interest and activity
include surveillance and survey activities in school-aged children, health promotion
among children with disabilities, and weight screening in schools. Dr. Must is a
fellow of The Obesity Society where she is also an elected board member. She has
served on several national panels in the U.S., most recently the CDC Expert Panel
that developed physical activity recommendations for school-aged children. She is
an Associate Editor (for Pediatric Obesity) for the journal Obesity.
Paulina Nowicka, Sweden
Paulina Nowicka is a clinical dietician, M Sc. in Exercise and Sports
Psychology, at the Childhood Obesity Unit in Malmö, Sweden. Her
main research area is management of obese children and adolescents
and the effects on self-esteem, family dynamics, nutrition
and physical activity. She is also a co-author with Dr. Carl-Erik
Flodmark of the first academic textbook in Scandinavia on “Childhood overweight in
practice – evidence-based Family Weight School” (Studentlitteratur, 2006). Paulina
Nowicka was recently elected as member of the Childhood Obesity Taskforce of
European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO).
Ulf Persson, Sweden
Ulf Persson, PhD, is research director at IHE, The Swedish Institute
for Health Economics in Lund, holds a position at the Department
of Technology and Society, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University,
Sweden, and he is a member of the board at the Swedish
pricing and reimbursement authority, the Pharmaceutical Benefit
Board, Läkemedelsförmånsnämnden (LFN). He has 25 years of research experience
in the development and application of economic evaluation methods in health care,
with particular regard to the introduction and utilization of medical technologies.
Current research areas include analyses of the economic burden of overweight
and obesity, as well as cost-effectiveness studies in anemia, cancer, obesity and
cardiovascular diseases.

Angelo Pietrobelli, Italy
Angelo Pietrobelli, MD, is a Pediatric Endocrinologist, who worked
with Dr. SB. Heymsfield at the New York Obesity Research Center,
Columbia University, New York, USA. Currently, he is Senior Staff
Physician at the Pediatric Unit, Verona University Medical School,
Verona, Italy. His research mainly focuses on Pediatric Body Composition,
as well as Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric Obesity. He is Pediatric
Associate Editor of the International Journal of Obesity, Associate Editor of the
International Journal of Body Composition Research, as well as Associate Editor of
the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity.
Birgitta Strandvik, Sweden
Birgitta Strandvik, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at
Göteborg University (2005), is active senior, mainly focusing on
fatty acid metabolism in healthy children and children with chronic
diseases, and in animal experimental research focusing on the impact
on gene expression by fatty acids in regard to programming
during the perinatal period for the development of diseases in adults. She has published
more than 250 scientific papers and book chapters. During recent years she
has been especially interested in the association between essential fatty acids and
obesity and the metabolism of these fatty acids during growth. She has had several
international commitments, as being President of the European Society of Paediatric
Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and is at present member of the Board
of the International Society for the Studies of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL).
Ram Weiss , Israel
Ram Weiss MD PhD is a doctor of medicine specializing in pediatric
endocrinology who received his training and PhD at the Yale
school of medicine. Dr. Weiss is presently an assistant professor in
the department of nutrition and metabolism and the department of
pediatrics at the Hebrew University – Hadassah School of medicine
in Jerusalem. The focus of his research is on metabolic derangements in obese
children and adolescents with special focus on alterations of glucose metabolism.
Other topics of research include the biology of lipid formation and deposition in insulin
sensitive tissues and the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile of insulin in
different body phenotypes.
obesity.
Kurt Widhalm, Austria
Kurt Widhalm, Dr is a Professor at the Department of Pediatrics,
University of Vienna, Austria. Professor Widhalm is also President
of the European Association for Research on Obesity in Childhood.
Professor Widhalm is one of the pioneers in the field of childhood
obesity and is an international expert on blood lipids and childhood

International Scientific Committee
Chair: Carl-Erik Flodmark, MD PhD, Childhood Obesity Unit,
University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
Richard L, Atkinson, MD, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA
Inge Lissau, PhD, Department of Health, Vordingborg, Denmark
Aviva Must, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
Angelo Pietrobelli, MD PhD, Pediatric Unit, Verona
University Medical School, Verona, Italy
Organising committee
Chair: Paulina Nowicka, Childhood Obesity Unit, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
Annica Larsson, Childhood Obesity Unit, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
Katrine Möller Voss, Childhood Obesity Unit, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

SOFT Introduction Day for Free
when you register for 3 rd SPOC 2008.
Sign up on for a special introduction day in the SOFT model
(Standardized Obesity Family Therapy) at the Childhood
Obsity Unit, on March 5, 2008. Meet the multidisciplinary team,
visit the center and learn about SOFT.
All this for free when you register for 3 rd SPOC 2008,
March 6-7 in Malmö, Sweden.
SOFT
SOFT is an effective and proven family therapy model that focus on the simple
and most effective solutions in order to effect positive change on the lifestyle of
obese children and adolescents – right now.
Standardized Obesity Family Therapy
How do I register
Mark the fi eld “SOFT Introduction Day March 5, 2008”,
when you register on the SPOC
website: www.childhoodbesity.info
There is a limited number of places, so make
sure to register soon.
What is SOFT
SOFT is a treatment model used to help obese children and adolescents
aged 4 to 18. This family therapy-based method is solution-focused,
which means that it aims to find solutions rather than to emphasize
problems. The therapist’s tool is the professional counseling session,
with a clear structured form in which the therapist is constantly aware
of where the session is going. The purpose of the counseling session is
to lead the way, based on the child’s needs, to a process of change that
occurs in sma l steps. The point of departure is a focus on the personal
resources of the child and the family, which strengthens the child’s selfesteem
and enables the child to find the path to a healthy weight,
supported by family, therapists, and other important individuals in the
child´s world. It is essential to avoid making the child or family feel guilt;
rather, a l e forts made should be respected and rewarded. Humility
and encouragement are the main features of the supportive treatment
provided in the SOFT model. The treatment focuses on everything from
exercise and die to self-esteem and family structure. A medical assessment
is the foundation and requirement of treatment.
What is the background of SOFT
The SOFT model was formulated and developed for 20 years by
pediatrician Dr. Carl-Erik Flodmark. He and psychologist MSc Torsten
Ohlsson carried out a study a the Child and Adolescent Center at
University Hospital, Malmö, which showed that family therapy is an
e fective method for treating obese children (Flodmark, Pediatrics,
1993). A treatment program was developed based on the findings of
this study to provide care within the framework of a pediatric practice.
In 2001 Dr. Flodmark opened a regional center for treatment of obese
children in Malmö – Childhood Obesity Unit. The working model was
further modified and developed with the assistance of Ywonne Peterson,
behavioral scientist and solution-focused brief therapist, as we l as other
team members a the Childhood Obesity Unit (pediatrician, pediatric
nurse, registered dietitian, sports expert and psychologist).
What makes
SOFT a successful model
The SOFT model .
• is an evidence-based treatment model.
• is flexible and can therefore be used in di ferent activities.
• is cost-e fective because few treatment sessions are required.
• emphasizes positive solutions.
• focuses on the present and looks to the future.
• is developed for a multidisciplinary team.
For more information about the SOFT model:
www.bravikt.info
w w w. b r a v i k t . i n f o
Dates to remember
Abstracts submission:
October 8 th 2007
Abstracts acceptance/
rejection
notification letter:
November 12 th 2007
Early registration fee:
before December 3 rd 2007
Regular registration fee:
before February 4 th 2008
Childhood Obesity Unit
Entrance 108, 2 nd Floor • University Hospital, Malmö S–205 02 • Sweden
Phone: +46 (0) 40 33 83 00 • Fax: +46 (0) 40 33 83 21
E-mail: barnovervikt@skane.se • www.bravikt.info