‘What’s In Your Pantry?’ –

The Challenge Of Childhood Obesity

RIDGEFIELD — A new study has revealed that the United States has more overweight teens than 14 other countries.

Danbury Hospital has arranged for the nutritionist Elizabeth DiMeo to visit The Ridgefield Playhouse as part of its Living Well Series to help educate people about nutrition in an entertaining way. On Thursday, January 26, at 7:30 pm, Ms DiMeo will discuss “What’s in Your Pantry: The State of the Plate — What Parents Need to Know About Their Kids’ Nutrition.”

“We believe just as much in preventative medicine as we do in treating existing ailments,” says Sue Kania, the director of the Danbury Hospital Development Fund. “The fact is, childhood obesity has increasingly become a worldwide health crisis. And we now know that obesity in childhood and adolescence leads to health problems in adult years, with 50 to 80 percent of obese teens becoming obese adults. So how do you combat this? Well, knowledge is power.”

Dealing with everything from picky eaters and the ever changing food pyramid to how to clean out a pantry and refrigerator and start all over, Ms DiMeo, who is a regular at Canyon Ranch Resort and Spa and is taping her own TV show Naked Nutrition, covers all the angles.

“Most people are just too busy to really spend the time informing themselves, but we know that once they get the knowledge it can truly help them create the lifestyle that they want to have without it being difficult or time consuming,” says Ms DiMeo.

In addition to holding a master’s of science in human nutrition from the University of Bridgeport and being board certified by the American College of Nutrition, Elizabeth DiMeo is also a certified personal trainer and a former chef.

She enthusiastically enjoys spreading the word about good nutrition and the subsequent good lifestyle changes it brings about.

Tickets for the lecture are $15.

Further information and reservations are available from The Ridgefield Playhouse, 203-438-5795. The Playhouse is at 80 East Ridge.