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PORTLAND, Maine

Michele Polacsek presents findings at Radcliffe Institute

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor for the School of Community and Population Health, presented the process and preliminary findings for two CHOICES Maine-based obesity policy studies at the Radcliffe Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts at a two-day national stakeholder conference on June 1–2.

CHOICES is the Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Over the past two years, papers have been written for more than 60 potential obesity-related cost effectiveness studies, and a stakeholder group has been engaged to help develop intervention areas, interventions, prioritize studies and assist with communication of findings.

The two Maine CHOICES studies focus on a sugar-sweetened excise tax and a SNAP sugar-sweetened beverage restriction. The studies use the Harvard team’s national CHOICES methodologies at state level to inform local policy and advocacy efforts. 

51С»Æ³µ the University of 51С»Æ³µ

The University of 51С»Æ³µ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.