In terms of making an obese young girl or obese young boy turn into an anorexia nervosa...it's true that there certainly is a spectrum of research groups out there that are concerned about the possibility that obesity is part of a spectrum of eating disorders. I think that is a very small component of childhood obesity, probably somewhere along the lines of 1%.
I think what is extremely important to bring home is that when we promote healthy lifestyles, meaning appropriate nutrition and physical activity, this holds true for people who have anorexia or who are obese. In other words, the same message applies. As physicians, we are not asking children to go on diets. We know that's not successful anyway and it's not a healthy option. What we're looking at is having all children adopt healthy nutrition and physical activity.
In terms of youth involvement, I think you're right. We have seen it in different spectrums, where youth are very effective at communicating with their own group.
What I have seen anecdotally is physical activity opportunities in community-based settings, where actually the youth are leading the little ones and the youth are actually running programs for the little ones. The little ones are so impressed with the youth because they want to emulate them, and the youth have an opportunity to teach the little ones, who really have their attention.
I think it's a really wonderful opportunity to bring youth to the table, because I think they'll bring a whole different spectrum, and also a refreshing spectrum, to this particular issue.