AMES, Iowa -- Judith Stern, Distinguished Professor of nutrition and internal medicine for the University of California, Davis, will speak on "Why Are We So Obese?" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public. A public reception is at 7 p.m., also in the Sun Room.
Stern is the 2005-2006 Dean Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair for Iowa State University's College of Human Sciences. She is an internationally recognized scholar on diet and nutrition. She researches nutrition, the effect of exercise on appetite and metabolism and obesity. She is an editorial advisor to Prevention magazine.
Stern also is the co-director of the Collaborative Obesity Research Evaluation Team at UC-Davis and has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Diane Birt, Distinguished Professor of food science and human nutrition and director of Iowa State's Center for Research on Dietary Botanical Supplements, said Stern will conduct two public lectures, visit classrooms, consult with faculty on research and extension projects and work with Iowa professional and health-related organizations.
"Dr. Stern is a tremendous speaker and creative scientist," Birt said. "ISU is fortunate to have recruited her to the Hilton Chair. Her expertise in obesity and health is timely considering the health promotion focus in our new College of Human Sciences."
Stern earned her bachelor's degree in foods and nutrition from Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. She received both her master's and doctorate degrees in nutrition from the Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston. She joined the faculty at UC-Davis in 1975.
In 1995, she chaired a committee on setting criteria for evaluation of obesity treatment programs for the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. In 2004, Stern received the Secretary Honors Award from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Stern will revisit Iowa State in November, February 2006 and May 2006.
Established in 1995, the Hilton Chair was endowed by a gift of more than $1.3 million from the estate of Helen LeBaron Hilton, who served as dean of the College of Home Economics from 1952 to 1975. That college is now part of the College of Human Sciences.
For more information, visit http://www.hs.iastate.edu/hiltonchair.