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The Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness

Milken Institute School of Public Health

About-Us
About-Us

About-Us

 

The Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health was established in 2014. The Center is led by Chair and Director, William Dietz, MD, PhD, who served as Director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for nearly 16 years. The work of the Center focuses on strategies to make Washington, DC, the healthiest capital in the world by reducing health disparities and inequities, by reducing health disparities and inequities through improvements to nutrition, physical activity, obesity, and planetary health. The Center’s location in the only school of public health in the nation’s capital provides a unique opportunity to influence local, national, and global policy.

 

Our Goals

The Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness will become the leading source in the United States for promising and evidence-based double-, triple-, and quadruple-duty strategies for improving planetary and human health. Activities to support this goal include the implementation and evaluation of strategies to improve health and measure outcomes within the District of Columbia and elsewhere. The Center convenes and collaborates with other groups to promote those strategies, policies, and programs likely to have the greatest impact.

 

Anti-Racism

To fulfill our mission, the Redstone Global Center is committed to becoming an anti-racist organization. In 2020, the center developed an action agenda as a starting point to guide our work. Racism and white supremacy and the trauma they induce are public health issues. We cannot ensure the health and wellbeing of all until white supremacy and the racist structures that support it are dismantled, and equity is achieved for all people and across all sectors, including health, criminal justice, economic opportunity, and education.
 

Download our Anti-Racist Action Agenda

Read Redstone’s 2020 Annual Report

Publications

Dietz WH. Better Diet Quality in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and WIC Package Reduced Childhood Obesity. Pediatrics. March 2021. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-032375.

Dietz WH, Kumanyika S. Solving Population-wide Obesity — Progress and Future Prospects. New England Journal of Medicine. December 2020. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2029646.

Dietz WH, Santos-Burgoa C. Obesity and its implications for COVID-19 mortality. Obesity 2020; 28 (6): 1005.

Leach RJ, Powis J, Baur L, Caterson ID, Dietz W, Logue J, Lobstein T. Clinical Care for Obesity: A Preliminary Survey of 68 Countries. Clinical Obesity. March 2020. DOI: 10.1111/cob.12357. 

Dietz WH. Climate Change and Malnutrition: We Need to Act Now. Journal of Clinical Investigation. January 2020. DOI: 10.1172/JCI135004.

Dietz WH. The Obesity (Under) Treatment Conundrum. Obesity. December 2019; 27: (12)1928-9. DOI: 10.1002/oby.22641.

Van Horn, L, Lenders CM, Pratt CA, Beech B, Carney PA, Dietz WH, DiMaria-Ghalili R, Harlan T, Hash R, Kohlmeier M, Kolasa K, Krebs NF, Kushner RF, Lieh-Lai M, Lindsley J, Meacham S, Nicastro H, Nowson C, Palmer C, Paniagua M, Philips E, Ray S, Rose S, Salive M, Schofield M, Thompson K, Trilk JL, Twillman G, White JD, Zappala G, Vargas A, Lynch C. Advancing Nutrition Education, Training, and Research for Medical Students, Residents, Fellows, Attending Physicians and Other Clinicians: Building Competencies and Interdisciplinary Coordination. Advances in Nutrition. 2019 Nov 1; 10(6):1181-1200. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmz083.

Orjuela-Grimm MA, Frazier AL, Dietz WH. Obesity in Pediatric Oncology: Assessment, Treatment Strategies and Knowledge Gaps. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. September 2019;  54: 139-143. DOI: 10.1093/jncimonographs/lgz024.

Dietz WH. Global Shifts in the Patterns of Urban and Rural Weight Increase. Nature Medicine. July 2019; 25:1035-6. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0518-z.

Muth ND, Dietz WH, Magge SN, Johnson RK. Public policies to reduce sugary drink consumption in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 2019; 143(4) e20190282.

Dietz WH. We Need a New Approach to Prevent Obesity in Low-income Minority Populations. Pediatrics. June 2019; 143 (6). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2019-0839.

Dietz WH, Gallagher C. A Proposed Standard of Obesity Care for All Providers and Payers. Obesity. Published Online: 23 June 2019. DOI: 10.1002/oby/22507.

Wolfenden L, Ezzati M, Larijani B, Dietz W. The challenge for global health systems in preventing and managing obesity. Obesity Reviews 2019; 20:185-193

Sylvetsky AC, Hiedacavage A, Shah N, Pokorney P, Baldauf S, Merrigan K, Smith V, Long MW, Black R, Robien K, Avena N, Gaine C, Greenberg D, Wootan MG, Talegawkar S, Colon-Ramos U, Leahy M, Ohmes A, Mennella JA, Sacheck J, Dietz WH. From Biology to Behavior: A Cross-disciplinary Seminar Series Surrounding Added Sugar and Low-calorie Sweetener Consumption. Obesity Science and Practice. Published Online: 19 February 2019. DOI: 10.1002/osp4.334.

Swinburn B, Dietz WH, et al. The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report. The Lancet. Published Online: 27 January 2019. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32822-8.

Sylvetsky AC, Figueroa J, Zimmerman T, Swithers SE, Welsh, JA. Consumption of Low-calorie Sweetened Beverages is Associated with Higher Total Energy and Sugar Intake Among Children, NHANES 2011-2016. Pediatric Obesity. Published Online: 02 May 2019. DOI: 10.1002/ljpo.12535.

Turner M, Johnson AC, Lantz P. Impact of Self-Efficacy on Risk Aversion in the Context of Surgical Weight Loss Decision Scenarios. Clinical Obesity. August 2019; 9 (4). DOI: 10.1111/cob.12311.  

Roess AA, Jacquier EF, Catellier DJ, Carvalho R, Lutes AC, Anater AS, Dietz WH. Food Consumption Patterns of Infants and Toddlers: Findings from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers (FITS) Study 2016 The Journal of Nutrition. Vol 148, Issue 9S, 1 September 2018, Pages 1525S-1535S.

Massetti GM, Dietz WH, Richardson LC. Strategies to Prevent Obesity-Related Cancer - Reply JAMA. 2018;319(23):2442-2443.

Rodgers A, Woodward A, Swinburn B, Dietz, WH. Prevalence Trends Tell Us What Did Not Precipitate the US Obesity Epidemic. The Lancet Public Health. Online first: February 28, 2018.

Rodgers, GP, Dietz, WH, Lavizzo-Mourey R. Research on Childhood Obesity: Building the Foundation for a Healthier Future. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 54, Issue 3, 450-452.

Dietz, WH. Double-Duty Solutions for the Double Burden of Malnutrition. The Lancet. Published Online: October 10, 2017

Massetti, GM, Dietz, WH, Richardson, LC. Excessive Weight Gain, Obesity and Cancer: Opportunities for Clinical Intervention. JAMA. Published Online: October 3, 2017

Ellis, WR, Dietz, WH. A New Framework for Addressing Adverse Childhood and Community Experiences: The Building Community Resilience Model. Acad Pediatr. 2017 Sept - Oct;17(7S):S86-S93.

Dietz, WH. Obesity and Excessive Weight Gain in Young Adults: New Targets for Prevention. JAMA. 2017;318(3):241-242. July 18, 2017

Dietz, WH. Childhood and Adolescent Obesity as a Winnable Battle. JAMA. 2017; 317(22):2336-2336 June 13, 2017

Simon, C, Kocot, SL, Dietz, WH. Partnership for a Healthier America: Creating Change Through Private Sector Partnerships. Curr Obes Rep. Published online April 24, 2017.

Dietz, WH, Douglas, CE, Brownson, RC. Chronic Disease Prevention: Tobacco Avoidance, Physical Activity, and Nutrition for a Healthy Start. JAMA. Published online September 26, 2016.

Petrin C, Kahan S, Turner M, Gallagher C, Dietz WH. Current practices of obesity pharmacotherapy, bariatric surgery referral and coding for counselling by healthcare professionals. Obesity Science & Practice 7 JUL 2016.

Dietz W, Gortmaker S. New Strategies to Prioritize Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Interventions.American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2016

Dietz W, Solomon L, Pronk N et al. An integrated framework for the prevention and treatment of obesity and its related chronic diseases. Health Affairs. 2015;34(9):1456-1263.

Merrigan K, Griffin T, Wilde P, Robien K, Goldberg J, Dietz W. Designing a sustainable diet. Science. 2015;350(6257):165-166.

Dietz W, Economos C. Progress in the control of childhood obesity. Pediatrics. 2015;135(3):e559-e561.

Powell L, Nguyen B, Dietz, WH. Energy and nutrient intake from pizza in the United States. Pediatrics. 2015;135(2);X14-X14.

Dietz W. The response of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the obesity epidemic. Ann Rev Public Health. 2015;36(1):575-596.

Testimony and Public Comments January 2019 - June 2020

1/17/2019: Redstone Global Center Public Comments to the Honorable Alex Azar, Secretary U.S. Department of Health and Human Services RE: Healthy People 2030 Comments

3/15/2019: Redstone Global Center Public Comments to Certification Policy Branch Program Development Division. Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture RE: Proposed Rule: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents, RIN 0584-AE57

4/9/2019: Dr. Bill Dietz and Dr. Jennifer Sacheck Testimony Before the Committee on Education and the Committee of the Whole Council of the District of Columbia Budget Oversight Hearing: Office of the State Superintendent of Education

12/16/2019: Dr. Bill Dietz Testimony to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment of the District of Columbia supporting passage of the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act.

3/4/2020: Redstone Global Center Endorsement of Joint International Consensus Statement for Ending Stigma of Obesity.

3/11/2020: Redstone Global Center Comments to NCQA on the proposed measures for retirement, new measures, changes to existing measures and an exclusion that applies across various measures for HEDIS.

6/30/2020: Dr. Bill Dietz Testimony to the Committees on Business and Economic Development and Health on B23-777, the “New Hospital at St. Elizabeths Act of 2020” & B23-778, the “New Howard University Hospital and Redevelopment Tax Abatement Act of 2020.”

Presentation Highlights January 2019 - June 2020
  • 1/19: Bangkok Thailand. Prince Mahidol Award Conference. Side session lecture “The Lancet Commission Report: Introduction to the Commission, the Global Syndemic, and the systems that drive it”
  • 2/2019: New York City. Columbia University School of Public Health Grand Rounds. Speaker: “The Lancet Commission Report: the Global Syndemic and strategies to mitigate it”
  • 3/2019: Des Moines, Iowa. Drake University Harkin Institute Summit on Public, Planet, and Health Policy: A New Age Approach to Food Systems. Speaker: The Lancet Commission Report: the Global Syndemic and strategies to mitigate it”
  • 3/2019: Washington, D.C. Federal Executives meeting. Speaker “Challenges and opportunities for obesity control”
  • 4/2019: Lincoln, Nebraska. Childhood Obesity Summit. Plenary speaker “Integrated clinical and community strategies for childhood obesity prevention”
  • 5/2019: Detroit, Michigan. Detroit Motion Coalition Summit. Speaker and moderator “Nutrition Challenges in Detroit”
  • 5/2019: Houston, Texas. U.S. News Summit on Combating Childhood Obesity. Plenary speaker Strategies for the prevention of childhood obesity”
  • 5/2019: Orlando, Florida. American Diabetes Association Annual Clinical Meeting. Plenary lecture: Population-based strategies for the obesity pandemic”
  • 6/2019: Washington, D.C. National Academy of Sciences Forum on Public-Private Partnerships for Global Health and Safety. Panel speaker “Effect of food, agriculture, and transport systems on the health of urban populations”
  • 6/2019: San Francisco, California. American Diabetes Association Annual Scientific meeting. Panel speaker: “Climate changes and diabetes; Opportunities and co-benefits”
  • 6/2019: Washington, D.C. Harkin Institute on Wellness. “The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change”. 
  • 7/2019: Washington, D.C. NASEM Webinar. The Potential Role of Nutrition in the First 2 Years of Life in the Prevention of Child Overweight and Obesity: A Webinar
  • 9/2019: Stanford University. Planetary Health Alliance. Speaker: “Food and agriculture strategies to mitigate the global syndemic.” 
  • 9/2019: New York, NY. Global Alliance for the Future of Food. Speaker, “The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change”
  • 10/2019: Boston, MA. Obesity Medicine Associates. Speaker, “The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change”
  • 10/2019: Washington, DC. Milken Institute Future of Health Summit, Panelist, “The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change”
  • 10/2019: Boston, MA. Obesity Medicine Association. Presentation, “A Comprehensive Benefit for Obesity Care and Treatment.” 
  • 11/2019: Las Vegas, NV. Obesity Week Conference. Speaker, “Food Insecurity and Obesity: Strange bedfellows”
  • 11/2019: Washington, DC. National Association of Health Care Purchasers Conference. Panel discussion.
  • 12/2019: Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg Global Seminar. Participant, “Halting the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: Identifying Decisive Interventions in Complex Systems.”
  • 1/2020: Washington, DC. American Institute for Cancer Research Lifestyle & Cancer Symposium. Speaker, “Clinical and Population-based Strategies for Obesity Prevention and Control.”
  • 1/2020: Washington, DC. Business Group on Health Webinar on Comprehensive Benefit for Obesity Care and Treatment.
  • 2/2020: Washington, DC. Sustainability Teach In at The George Washington University. Speaker, “The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change.”
  • 3/2020: Denver, CO. Healthy Eating Research 2020 Annual Grantee Meeting. Speaker, Introduction: “Are We Making Progress?” and Panelist, “Creating the Future – Policy Frontiers; Climate change and the link with dietary choices.” 
Media Highlights January 2019 - June 2020
External Advisory Group

The work of the Redstone Center is guided by an External Advisory Group (EAG), which meets on an annual basis to provide direction and recommendations. Created in December 2015, the EAG has helped to define the Center’s scope of work and identify new opportunities, including special consideration of policy development and implementation. Current membership includes:

Sue Curry, Dean, University of Iowa College of Public Health and Distinguished Professor, Department of Health Management and Policy

Steven Gortmaker, Professor of the Practice of Health Sociology, Harvard University School of Public Health

Mauricio Hernandez Avila , Secretary General – IANPHI Mexico Secretariat, National Institute of Public Health

LaQuandra Nesbitt, Director, DC Department of Health

Russel Pate, Professor, Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina

Joseph Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Capital Region Health, University of Maryland Medical System

Internal Advisory Group

To further deepen engagement within the Milken Institute SPH and amplify work across departments and the broader university community, the Center established an Internal Advisory Group (IAG) in 2015. Members meet annually to provide strategic support and guidance on the Center’s projects and plans. Current membership includes:

Lynn Goldman, Michael and Lori Milken Dean of Milken Institute School of Public Health and Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health

Jim Tielsch, Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health

Deanna Kerrigan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health

Anne Marcus, Professor and Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management

Jennifer Sacheck-Ward, Sanofi Professor of Prevention and Wellness and Chair, Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences