Weight Watchers Weighs In With Grant for UC Irvine
UC Irvine’s College of Medicine received a $50,000 grant from the Weight Watchers Foundation on Thursday to expand its medical education program in nutrition.
The grant, one of only two given in this country by the nationally known organization, will be used to augment existing classes and create programs in clinical nutrition and obesity prevention.
In accepting the money, school officials pointed out that about 55% of Americans are overweight and 30% are obese. “The problem is economic as well as medical, since $52 billion is spent each year in this country to treat medical problems from obesity,” said Dr. Joseph Scherger, associate dean for clinical affairs.
The program will prepare students to make detailed nutritional assessments of patients, counsel them on eating disorders and treat obesity. Called Clinical Nutrition 2000, it will include lectures in the first year, small-group discussions and case studies in the second year, lectures on nutrition in the third year, and an elective in clinical nutrition for fourth-year students.
The grant was presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, a Weight Watchers spokeswoman.
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