Childhood Obesity: A Pandemic Health Crisis

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On June 28, 2018, the Turpanjian School of Public Health (SPH) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) organized a public health seminar titled “Childhood Obesity: A Pandemic Health Crisis.” The seminar was led by Annette Besnilian, EdD, MPH, RDN, FAND, who is the Executive Director of the Marilyn Magaram Center and Dietetic Internship Director at California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

Dr. Besnilian is a nutritionist and dietitian with a background in public health. During the event, she discussed the worldwide trends in childhood overweight and obesity and related issues, spoke about causes of childhood obesity, as well as highlighted the importance of physical activity and healthy nutrition. Dr. Besnilian also shared with the audience some examples of obesity prevention and intervention projects among school children that the Marilyn Magaram Center conducted in California. Her presentation was followed by an interesting discussion with the audience.

Dr. Besnilian holds a B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from CSUN. She received her MPH in Public Health Nutrition from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) while completing her Dietetic Internship (DI) at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. She received several awards including Primary Investigators (PI) Award, Diversity Action Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and CSUN Faculty Scholar, Outstanding Dietetic Educator award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Excellence in Education from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, The Young Dietitian of the year award, and Extraordinary Service to the university.

The slides and the video of the public health seminar are now available.

The AUA Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian School of Public Health works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.