OXFORD, Miss. – A research professor from Louisiana State
University is slated to speak Nov. 1 in Oxford on effective
exercise practices for overweight children.
The free, public lecture by Melinda Sothern is scheduled
for 7 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center on Sisk Avenue.
Titled “Safe and Effective Exercise for Overweight
Children,” the presentation is part of the annual meeting
of the Southeast American College of Sports Medicine,
hosted this year by the University of Mississippi.
Mark Loftin, chair of UM’s Department of Health, Exercise
Science and Recreation Management, said Sothern is one of
his former students and is considered to be a leading
researcher on childhood obesity.
“Dr. Sothern is on the cutting edge of research regarding
childhood obesity issues. She also is excellent in applying
her research to parents and teachers,” he said.
At the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Sothern
directs the Section of Health Promotion in the Division of
Behavioral and Community Health in the Health Sciences
Center, School of Public Health and the Prevention of
Childhood Obesity Laboratory. Her research has been widely
published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and recently
in a scientific textbook, “The Handbook of Pediatric
Obesity: Clinical Management” (Taylor and Francis, 2006).
Sothern is the principal investigator for two National
Institutes of Health studies and is a co-investigator in a
six-year NIH-sponsored study on increasing physical
activity in adolescent girls. She is also involved in
several other nationwide health studies sponsored by NIH.
She is considered a national spokesperson for overweight
youth and has been featured extensively in national and
international television, radio and print media, including
“Good Morning, America,” “The Today Show,” “48 Hours” and
“The Oprah Winfrey Show,” as well as on the CNN
international channel, Fox News Network, Nickelodeon,
Discovery Channel and in USA Today, The Washington Post,
The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Parents,
Parenting, Better Homes and Gardens, and Prevention.
Sothern has led her field in establishing standardized
guidelines for prescribing exercise for children with
increasing levels of obesity. She is best known for her
work in promoting active play as a means of preventing and
treating childhood obesity. She has been a member of the
American College of Sports Medicine for more than 15 years
and is a fellow and council member of The Obesity Society.
She co-founded the Pediatric Obesity Interest Group, which
is formally integrated into The Obesity Society.
For more information about the conference or assistance
related to a disability, call 662-915-5521. To learn more
about the School of Applied Sciences, visit