Professional Development Meeting Assignment
Domain: Public Health
The CUNY School of Public Health hosted an event called “A Roundtable Discussion on New York City Sugary Drink Policies”. It was held on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy auditorium.
The keynote speaker was Mr. Xavier Morales, PhD, MRP, Executive Director, of the Praxis Project. He was joined by other panelists like Frances Fleming Milici, PhD, Research Associate from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, Dr. Jim Krieger, MD, MPH, and the Founding Executive Director of Healthy Food America, and Mr. Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Program Manager from the Children’s Aid Society.
The purpose of the meeting was to bring together policy makers, community organizers, and healthcare professionals to discuss future policies in New York City that can be developed regarding sugary drinks. The main point of the meeting was to listen to panelists who have had first hand experience in developing policies to combat the increase in consumption of sugar sweetened beverages in their respective cities/communities.
The keynote speaker Mr. Morales, discussed the success he and his team had regarding taxing sugar sweetened beverages in the city of Berkeley, California. Mr. Morales talked about the approaches they took in educating the community to get their vote to get the tax law approved. He talked about how they went door to door for months to make sure that all the residents of Berkeley were informed regarding all the aspects of the tax law, its potential impact in the community, and the negative effects of SSB to health. Mr. Morales’ presentation showed that with the right method, the right message, and the right people, it is possible to develop policies regarding sugary beverages.
The first panelist Ms. Milici, spoke about targeted marketing and how children and young adults are constantly bombarded with advertisements about SSB’s. She also spoke about how parents are also targeted by these advertisements. Ms. Milici spoke about the power of counter marketing and the work she does in order to decrease SSB consumption not only for youths but for everyone.
Like Mr. Morales, Dr. Jim Krieger talked about the impact and feasibility of taxing SSB’s. Dr. Krieger discussed how taxing SSB’s could help with decreasing SSB consumption, increase awareness regarding adverse health effects of SSB’s, and generate revenue for community. He spoke of efforts of a couple of countries as well as one hospital in the United States that have successfully developed policies regarding SSB’s. Dr. Krieger’s presentation emphasized that policies regarding decreasing SSB consumption are possible.
Mr. Gonzalez discussed the work that the Children’s Aid Society has done in educating children of all ages regarding the negative effect of SSB consumption. He also emphasized the importance of using interactive teaching techniques in order to get the message across. Mr. Gonzalez believes that when equipped with the proper knowledge, children will be able to make better decisions regarding purchasing SSB’s.
Since this panel was to talk about developing policies to combat SSB consumption, everyone in the panel was definitely against SSB’s which makes this panel one sided. All of the panelists, provided scientific evidence (CDC statistics, research articles, etc) regarding the negative effects of sugary beverages when it comes to overall health. I thought all of the panelists provided great information on why they believe SSB consumption is harmful.
I thought that the presenters did a great job in showcasing the work they have done regarding this topic. I liked that their PowerPoints were full of pictures, graphs, and other illustrations in order to get their message across. If I was to do anything differently, I would maybe include testimonials from people from the panelists respective cities/communities regarding the positive effects that the policies have had in their community or even their lives. This way, it would convince attendees that these policies are beneficial.
I thought that the event met what it said it was supposed to accomplish. Attendees were equipped with the knowledge to go out and start working on policies at their job or their communities. The event panelists were great since they answered audience questions thoroughly and provided them with ideas on how to get started in making these changes in their communities.
Coffee, tea, and water were served at the event. No sugary beverages were served which was consistent with the event theme.
Applies to:
CRDN 1.4: Evaluate emerging research for application in nutrition and dietetics practice
CRDN 1.6: Incorporate critical-thinking skills in overall practice
CRDN 2.2: Demonstrate professional writing skills in preparing professional communications
CRDN 2.9: Participate in professional and community organizations
