Childhood obesity poses a serious threat to the health of our nation. Specifically, the preschool years (3-5 years of age) have been identified as a crucial time to study the determinants of childhood nutrition and obesity. This study investigated the body mass index (BMI) of children ages 3 to 5 years, as well as parenting behaviors and parenting styles and how they possibly influenced children's eating habits and overall BMIs. Results indicated there was a significant difference between parenting styles and children's eating habits, with authoritative parents labeling their children's eating habits as either very good or good and permissive parents labeling their children's eating habits as fair. In addition, results indicated a significant difference between parents' educational levels and personal BMIs. As parents' educational level increased, their BMI levels decreased.

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Preparing future professionals to work in transdisciplinary settings with a skill set to effectively foster collaborations and sustainable change requires a thoughtful and concerted interprofessional education approach. Through an interuniversity partnership in 2010 with South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings, SD, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Lincoln, NE, a group of faculty convened to propose the Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention (TOP) graduate certificate program. With funding supported by a United States (US) Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant in 2011, a team of faculty from SDSU and UNL representing various disciplines (exercise science, nutrition, dietetics, health promotion, public health, nursing, early childhood education, family and consumer sciences, biology, biostatistics, and counseling) began developing the TOP graduate certificate program which is currently in its 5th year. The primary goal of this report is to outline the overall framework and components of the TOP graduate certificate program, providing information, strategies, and considerations other institutions can apply in developing effective and sustainable transdisciplinary, interprofessional education to their existing graduate programs.