NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Obesity and Weight Management, currently under the editorship of James Hill, Ph.D., and Holly Wyatt, M.D., from the University of Colorado at Denver, will change its mission and be renamed Childhood Obesity this summer. The editors said the new focus will allow the magazine to become “the premier journal and central forum on childhood and adolescent obesity, as part of the imperative to achieve swift and effective means to stem this epidemic.” The newly titled journal will be published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Childhood Obesity will have a broad mandate and will provide physicians, nurses, dietitians, diabetes educators, nutritionists, psychologists, educators, school nurses, health counselors, community organizers, and policymakers with effective prevention and management strategies, patient education and motivation tools, and research advances in the field.

Each issue is expected to provide action-oriented content, including original peer-reviewed articles; provocative editorials and perspectives from opinion leaders; interviews with thought leaders; roundtable discussions; new weight management initiatives; safety and efficacy of treatment regimens; prevention and education; exploration of health disparities and cultural sensitivity; Q & A; successful obesity prevention school program profiles; new nonprofit and government initiatives and programs; patient motivation tools and handouts; Literature Watch; Web Watch; and other actionable news and developments.

“The strong response to the expanded focus of this important journal has been very gratifying,” said Mary Ann Liebert, president and chief executive officer of the privately held publishing company that bears her name. “Childhood Obesity will play an important role in achieving the goal First Lady Michelle Obama has of ensuring that this new generation shapes up to a healthy weight by the time they reach adulthood.

“Mrs. Obama is right when she says that childhood obesity threatens the nation’s economic health. The costs of health care for obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are enormous. Healthy people are productive people. Weight management starts in childhood. Childhood Obesity has a very broad mission that requires the active participation of health care providers in collaboration with educators, school nurses, health counselors, and groups such as parent-teacher organizations that must try to ensure that school meals are well balanced and foster the right eating habits.”

Childhood Obesity, which will be published bimonthly in print and on-line, is in collaboration with the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the American Dietetic Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.