The meeting was motivated, in part, by a parent's question at an October meeting, asking whether the Department of Human Services would take a dangerously overweight child from a family's home because of obesity.
For months, it's been a controversial topic across the nation.
And it has happened in Philadelphia.
But Department of Human Services commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose says only as a last resort.
"When it becomes a life-threatening situation, we have a legal responsibility to do something, and sometimes that means a removal from the home," she told Action News.
DHS wants to help families make sure they don't get to that point.
Tonight's meeting at the towey recreational center will offer tools that can be used right away - such as easy ways to serve lighter, more healthy meals. And how to get more activity into daily life - even when safety on the streets is a worry.
Dr. Cindy Christian, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital, says,"Families can go to indoor malls and walk. Families can exercise in their own homes. You can turn on cable TV, and often find some exercise programs that you can do as a family."
Efforts are underway to improve the food sold at corner stores, and over the past few years, dozens of farmer's markets have been set up in city neighborhoods.
But Dr. Christian says, "Obesity affects children's health, but can also hav
"In some areas of the city, up to 70 per cent of the children are overweight or obese," she says.
"It affects children's health. but it can also have permanent effects on adult health. so we want to tackle this problem early in life, so we don't have as a society have these overwhelming health burdens."
She worries that hiladelphia already faces a potential avalanche of adult obesity-related problems.
