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NOT WAISTING TIME O Researchers receive $1 million grant to reduce obesity in preschoolers BESITY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN has tripled since 1980, and the prevalence is highest among black and Hispanic children. A team of researchers including College of Medi- cine faculty has received a $950,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help combat this problem by integrating their proven obesity-prevention strategies into programs delivered to low-income families. Over the past decade, a team led by University of Illinois researcher Marian Fitzgibbon, PhD, professor of medicine and health promotion research, developed an obesity intervention called Hip-Hop to Health. This intervention targets preschool children and their parents—at a critical period for addressing weight-related behaviors—with program- ming focused on physical activity, television viewing, food available in the home, portion sizes and contextual factors that can create barriers to healthy eating and physical activity. Used in Head Start and Chicago Public Schools preschools, the program has been found to be effective in reducing body mass index in 3- to 5-year-old minority, low-income children. The USDA grant will enable Fitzgibbon's team to extend the pro- gram to 180 additional families who attend the USDA's Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs in Chicago. Study participants will receive Hip-Hop to Health or general nutrition programming during six sessions over six months. The team also includes Angela Odoms-Young, PhD, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition and co-principal investigator of the study, and co-investigators Melinda Stolley, PhD, associate professor of medicine and health promotion research, and Carol Braunschweig, PhD, associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition. T CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OPENS WITHIN MEDICAL CENTER HE 101-BED CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, which includes 10 centers of excellence and provides general and pediatric subspecialty care to children across the state, celebrated its grand opening on June 13. Housed within the University of Illinois Medical Center, where the dedication ceremony and tour were held, Children's Hospital is comprised of: 24 pediatric medical-surgical beds, 12 pediatric intensive care beds, 10 pediatric step-down beds and a 55-bed neonatal intensive care unit that includes 30 Level III NICU beds, the highest care designation awarded by the state. "The hospital will be true to its commitment to the children of Illinois to provide compassionate, high-quality health care and be an acclaimed leader in advancing the art and science of medicine," says Usha Raj, MD, physician-in-chief of Children's Hospital University of Illinois. "Children's Hospital University of Illinois brings our dedicated staff and resources together under one umbrella to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to children, particularly the underserved," says Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, vice president for health affairs and vice chancellor for research. The hospital's 10 centers of excellence are: n Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, the only state and federally funded program of its kind in Illinois treating children n "TIKES," Thriving Illinois Kids Engagement System, a medical home model of clinical care, education and research to improve the social capital of children n Pediatric Renal Transplantation program, a team comprised of surgical transplantation and pediatric nephrologists n Center for Pediatric Lung Research, which performs basic and translational research in neonatal and pediatric lung diseases n Neonatology Intensive Care Unit, which serves as a Regional Perinatal Center n Long-term Survivors of Childhood Cancer Clinic and Follow-Up Program, which is also a site for the national Children's Oncology Group n Pediatric Diabetes Program, which collaborates with federally funded researchers and the division of endocrinology n Center for Neonatal and Pediatric Gastrointestinal Diseases, which handles basic and translational research on the development and immunology of diseases such as neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis n Center for Pediatric Neurological and Developmental Disorders, which focuses on pediatric epilepsy, headache, narcolepsy and developmental disorders n Pediatric Asthma, which undertakes clinical studies and partners with the department of medicine in providing seamless care to young adults with asthma For more information about Children's Hospital University of Illinois, please visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org. I L L INOI S MEDICINE | 7