Department of Communications & Public Affairs

Date: November 6, 2006

CONTACT: Jeannette Evans
Marketing Information Assistant
732-235-5810 - evansje1@umdnj.edu

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Metabolism Center at
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Medical School Hosts
Seminar to Promote Healthy Lifestyles for Families

For Immediate Release
New Brunswick – Learning how to promote and practice healthy lifestyles will be the focus of a free seminar hosted by The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Metabolism Center at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The seminar will feature Jeff Levine, MD, associate professor of family medicine, who will present “Confessions of the Biggest Loser: Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in our Families by Practicing What We Preach.”

Dr. Levine is a family physician who once carried 370 pounds on his 6-foot 1-inch frame. Believing that he had lost credibility with his patients, Dr. Levine became a contestant on The Biggest Loser, a reality TV show in which overweight participants compete to lose the greatest percentage of body weight. Though he did not win the show’s top prize, Dr. Levine dropped 153 pounds and is now a fit 217 pounds, losing 41 percent of his total body weight.

Immediately following Dr. Levine’s presentation will be an informative session on “A New Weigh,” a comprehensive 12-week program offered by The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Metabolism Center at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for overweight children and their families. The program offers a stepwise behavior-based approach for families to help children achieve and maintain a healthy weight by changing eating, exercise and lifestyles habits.

Community members are welcome to join Dr. Levine and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Metabolism Center at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at this free seminar on Monday, November 13, 2006 at 7 p.m. at the Children’s Health Institute of New Jersey (CHINJ), 89 French Street, New Brunswick, conference room 3101. Please RSVP by calling (732) 418-8376, press #3.