The 2015 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting (SRCD) took place March 19 – 21, 2015 in Philadelphia, PA. This conference provided a highly multi- and interdisciplinary setting to learn about and present research addressing many domains of human development from infancy into adulthood, including research on obesity during childhood and adulthood.
The many sets of invited talks, paper symposiums, posters, and pre-conference workshops seemed reflect the growing attention to and interest in the role of early life adversities, toxic stress, and social inequality and inequity on the development of adverse health outcomes, particularly obesity.
These sessions highlighted the importance of taking a health equity perspective when studying obesity and developing intervention programs for childhood obesity such as:
- Critically examining the social, political, cultural, and economic contexts that influence individuals’ health-impacting behaviors
- Considering who is able to benefit from the interventions created and who is not
- Striving to ensure that the most disenfranchised and disempowered populations can be adequately served by services and programs