Kansas University alumnus and former Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills will speak at KU’s seventh annual Conference on the Prevention and Treatment of Overweight and Obese Individuals from Sept. 8-10 at the Marriott Hotel, 200 West 12th Street, Kansas City, Mo.

The event is co-sponsored by KU’s Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management.

Mills will speak about obesity, Native Americans and self-empowerment at 8 a.m., Sept. 10.

Mills is a Lakota Sioux and 1962 KU graduate. He won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter run in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics – the only American runner to do so to date.

Other conference speakers will include: Deputy Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu; David Ludwig, a director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital in Boston; and Patricia Britten, a nutritionist with the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The complete schedule and list of speakers is available at www.ebl.ku.edu/conference_2005.html. The event is open to the public. Register by contacting Kim Johnson at (785) 864-0797 or kim@ku.edu.