Child Health Week will take place at the Vanderbilt Medical Center next week with events including a national forum on children's obesity, a free car seat check and a 1-hour teaching kitchen demonstration.

"Children's health is a focus for our state. Ultimately we want all of our children to be as healthy as they can be," said Director of Children's Health Improvement and Prevention Mary Kate Mouser.

Mouser said Tennessee is ranked in the top four states for highest child BMI and also holds a high rank for adult obesity.

The Pediatric Obesity Forum will be held on Oct. 15 from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

"It's a chance for folks across the state to come together and to talk about obesity ... It's a time to brainstorm and to think about the future, to collaborate and to build," Mouser said.

Mouser said child obesity is a multifaceted problem and can stem from many different causes.

"There is an education piece that has to happen, a change in behavior and also a change in environment," she said. "Tennessee is in the South, in the South we put butter and lard in our food because its been a tradition ... Also, there are a number of things when looking at low income areas, they don't have access to fresh fruit of vegetables, only access to quick markets who sell candy bars and beer."

The Vanderbilt Medical Center is trying to combat the problem through a number of research and outreach programs. Additionally, Mouser said Vanderbilt has recently received funding for a 20-year long-term study that will follow kids from the time they are conceived until they turn 21. The study aims to uncover what types of health issues arise based on environment and education.