Plan now to join NAASO in Vancouver, October 15 - 19, 2005. Register by June 12 and take advantage of early bird discounts. Advance registration will be accepted until September 19, 2005.

Reminder: NAASO Members recieve substantial discounts on Annual Meeting Registration fees. If you would like to become a NAASO member, or renew your membership, please contact membership@naaso.org or, call Ana Escobar at 301.563.6526 before you complete the registration process.

NAASO expects more than 2,300 attendees to join us in Vancouver. We hope to see you there! All visitors to Canada

NAASO is offering selected Annual Meeting Symposia, Lectures, Tutorials and Workshops - all online and free to registered Annual Meeting attendees. This service benefits meeting attendees BEFORE, and AFTER the Annual Meeting. No need for note taking during the meeting! Continue your learning experience all year long!

Before the Meeting:

Put NAASO on your exhibition calendar now! Here is a great opportunity to showcase your company's products and services to a group of pre-qualified obesity experts.
Reserve your booth space today. Contact Tricia Cavallo for more information or call: 804.723.3138. Booth space fees are $2,200 per 10' x 10' space.

You'll be in good company! See our Webpage for a current list of participants. Don't miss this opportunity to join NAASO in Vancouver.

Corporate Sponsored Symposia
Does your company or organization have additional educational information that would benefit NAASO attendees? Corporate Sponsored Symposia offers a great opportunity to communicate your company's educational message to key members of the obesity community. Contact Tricia Cavallo or call 804.723.3138. Download the Corporate Sponsored Symposia Guidelines and Application.

Other Sponsorship Opportunities
Heighten awareness of your company's commitment to obesity treatment and research among leaders in the obesity field by sponsoring an Educational Program, an Event, Refreshment break, Tote Bags and more! Download a complete listing of Sponsorship Opportunities, or contact Tricia Cavallo or call 804.723.3138.

In November of 2004, NAASO created a Task Force on Weight Bias to articulate NAASO's position on weight discrimination and to identify strategies for implementing that position. One of the first accomplishments of this Task Force has been the development of a policy statement on weight bias. The statement concludes, "NAASO opposes weight discrimination and stigma unequivocally. As a scientific organization, we have an obligation to stand together with larger people to fight weight bias in a society that poorly understands this condition called 'obesity.'" This statement was approved by Council on May 1.

NAASO's newest education initiative, Obesity Online, is the largest online collection of evidence-based obesity education resources. More than 120,000 slides have been downloaded for personalized presentations or educational use between the launch of Obesity Online in November 2004 through April 2005.

Log on to Obesity Online today! Hundreds of slides are available, each with searchable references and speaker notes. Obesity Online also features critical presentations from major professional meetings on current issues in obesity, and free CME. Register for updates and we'll notify you the day new material is available on the site. Complete the Obesity Online Suggestion Form for an opportunity to share your ideas for new content or specific topics.

On April 18, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced $1.2 million initiative to improve efforts to reduce obesity among African Americans through a new partnership with national African American organizations.

The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), Silver Spring, Md., the National Urban League, New York, N.Y., and the National Council of Negro Women, Washington, D.C. will join forces in launching critical programs in prevention, education, public awareness, and outreach activities to build greater awareness obesity's impact on other conditions.

NAASO Member Appointed President of American Dietetic Association
Rebecca S. Reeves, PhD, Assistant Professor of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine will begin her one year term as 2005-2006 president of the American Dietetic Association on June 1.

Education Committee Chair Elected Councilman
Patrick M. O'Neil, PhD, Director of the MUSC Weight Management Center and Chair of NAASO's Education Committee, was re-elected to Sullivan's Island, SC council on May 3rd. Dr. O'Neil gained the most votes in a five-candidate race for three council seats.

News from the West
Judith Stern reports from
California
Sean Adams, senior scientific investigator at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, was appointed member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Nutrition.
Michael Goran, (University of Southern California) has been appointed member of the IPOD (Integrative physiology of obesity and diabetes) study section for a 3-year term. He has also secured an additional 4 years of funding for his longitudinal study on risk factors and predictors for the development of type 2 diabetes in obese Hispanic children.

Colorado
Richard Gay Israel, Professor and Department Head Executive Director reports that on April 9 and 10, Colorado State University hosted a conference entitled the Obesity Epidemic: Etiology, Prevention and Treatment. Speakers included Matt Hickey, Tracy Nelson, Chris Bell and Chris Melby from Colorado State University, Jim Hill and Holly Wyatt from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Walter Pories, East Carolina University, John Jakicic, University of Pittsburg, Joe Donnelly, University of Kansas and Richard Ho, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School.

Hawaii
Ann M. Pobutsky, PhD reports that as a result of coordinated government agency and community efforts, numerous bills and resolutions were introduced in the Hawaii Legislature this year related to obesity.

Nevada
William N. Evans, University of Nevada, School of Medicine's Division of Pediatric Cardiology, will present, "Highest Oxygen Consumption During Exercise in Overweight Children" and a second scientific poster at the Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.
Gary A. Mayman, M.D., University of Nevada, School of Medicine's Division of Pediatric Cardiology recently presented, "Dietary Fish Oil Supplementation and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Modification in Overweight Children" and two additional scientific posters at the American Heart Association's 45th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease and Epidemiology and Prevention.

Washington
Adam Drewnowski, University of Washington, participated in a conference at McGill University in Montreal organized by Laurette Dube, professor in the School of Management. Entitled, "Eating is Delight" the conference addressed the issue of obesity from the standpoints of neurology, neuroscience, nutrition, marketing and business management. Dr. Drewnowski was also a speaker at the Kids@Risk conference in New York City.