Tampa, FL (April 18, 2006) --  Cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD, FAAC, creator of The South Beach Diet, is scheduled to speak at the 7^th Annual Conference on Obesity, at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, April 22 at the Sheraton Sand Key, 1160 Gulf Boulevard in Clearwater Beach.  USF Health in partnership with the Florida Department of Health will host the event.

The three-day conference, directed by Duane C. Eichler, PhD, Professor of Molecular Medicine at USF Health, is designed for doctors and dieticians in private practice or the public health setting.  With more than 65 percent of the adult population clinically overweight and at risk for associated illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, physicians will learn how to work with patients to select realistic behavioral goals for losing weight.  Advances in drug therapies, obesity and insulin resistance, obesity surgery, and the link between excess weight in childhood and adult cardiovascular disease will also be discussed.

USF Health Vice President and Dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Stephen Klasko, will welcome attendees to the conference and several USF Health physicians will speak at the event, including W. McDowell Anderson, MD; Carol Bryant, PhD; Frank Diamond Jr., MD; Cecilia Jevitt, CNM, PhD; Lisa Saff Koche, MD; Michel Murr, MD, FACS; and Jose Luciano, MD. Florida Secretary of Health Rony Francois will discuss the obesity epidemic.

In the United States, obesity has risen at an epidemic rate during the past 20 years. Despite widespread knowledge about the benefits of physical activity and good nutrition, many people continue to follow a lifestyle that puts them at risk for obesity and overweight.  One of the national health objectives for the year 2010 is to reduce obesity among adults to less than 15 percent.

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USF Health is the University of South Florida's enterprise of researchers, teachers and clinicians dedicated to improving the full continuum of health. Its core is the colleges of Public Health, Nursing and Medicine, including a School of Physical Therapy, as well as the healthcare delivered by its 450 physicians and more than 100 nurse practitioners. In partnership with its affiliated hospitals, USF Health's research funding last year was $134 million -- more than half of which came from federal sources. Last year, USF health clinicians cared for more than 31,000 patients and oversaw 396,000 outpatient visits.