Joseph V. Labolito / Temple University

Richard Beachy (right), director of the USDA's National Institute on Food and Agriculture, addresses a room full of Temple researchers, including Jennifer Orlet Fisher (left), who was awarded a new $3.7 million grant from the USDA on March 22.

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USDA awards $3.7M to Temple’s Center for Obesity Research and Education

Temple’s Center for Obesity Research and Education yesterday (March 22) hosted Richard Beachy, director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and several state and local legislators to formally announce a new, $3.7 million grant focused on curbing childhood obesity in low-income families.

The five-year grant will fund a program that will teach mothers simple yet authoritative strategies to promote appropriate food choices and portion sizes to their children.

“As obese or overweight children get older, it becomes more likely that they will carry the profound health burdens of obesity into adulthood,” said Jennifer Orlet Fisher, the lead investigator on the study. “And parents and families will be central to the success of any obesity prevention efforts.”

Congressman Chaka Fattah, of Philadelphia’s second district, was at the event, and has been instrumental in helping CORE obtain funding for its community outreach programs in North and West Philadelphia.

“We have a nutrition crisis in our cities, especially among low-income families and among the very young,” said Fattah. “I am pleased that one of our leading institutions in nutrition research will gain the resources to undertake this valuable study.”

U.S. Senator Robert Casey also voiced his support for the project. “I am delighted that this grant will help Temple University continue its important work to formulate the most effective ways to fight obesity,” he said. “This grant will fund research aimed at preventing childhood obesity, an epidemic that we must fight to put our children on a path to healthy and productive lives.”