In March 2013, an expert panel appointed by the Ontario government presented the Minister of Health with a comprehensive three-pronged strategy to address the issue of childhood obesity. The Healthy Kids Panel recommended a strategy to start all kids on the path to health, change the food environment and create healthy communities. For each of these elements, it proposed realistic, achievable measures along with an action plan to turn ideas into reality. Alex Munter was Co-Chair of the panel. In this lecture he will address how members of the multi-sectoral committee took on their mandate, put evidence ahead of preconception and were willing to move away from the prevailing wisdom of their sector in order to put together an effective strategy. He will also explore the complexity of the issue from both a political and a policy perspective and present his insights on how we make progress to protect child and youth health.