Obesity summit in England’s childhood obesity capital

Middlesbrough currently holds the unenviable record as England’s childhood obesity capital. So it is timely that the University of Teesside, situated in North East England, should be hosting a gathering of national and international obesity experts.

Organised by the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO), the conference will focus on why the poorest and most disadvantaged groups are often those suffering the most from obesity.

The event ‘Health inequalities and obesity’ takes place on Valentine’s Day (Tuesday 14 February) in the University’s School of Health & Social Care Centuria Building, Middlesbrough.

Professor Carolyn Summerbell, Deputy Chair of the ASO and head of the University of Teesside Centre for Food, Physical Activity and Obesity Research, says: “Obesity is a real problem here in the North East and this meeting will pull together policy initiatives, research findings and practical strategies to combat the problem in future generations, both locally and nationally. Discussing ideas from countries in better and worse situations than ourselves in terms of obesity prevalence will bring a new perspective to our work in the UK”.

The conference is attracting international speakers: Professor Shiriki Kumanyika from Pennsylvania University, USA, will focus on the societal changes that have altered eating habits and physical activity and led to the current epidemic of obesity. She will ask why these changes have hit ethnic minority groups and disadvantaged communities the hardest. Professor Johannes Brug, from The Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands, will speak on the impact of mass-media campaigns, and computer-tailored nutrition and physical activity interventions for the prevention of obesity at a public health level.

Professor Carolyn Summerbell from the University of Teesside and Professor Peter Kelly, Director of Public Health for Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust (PCT) will draw attention to local initiatives in obesity prevention in both children and adults within the Middlesbrough area, including:

Teesside’s World Cancer Research Fund project TeesCAKE which has seen Middlesbrough Football Club, University experts and a dance programme delivered by Middlesbrough Council work with 9 and 10 year-olds on dietary intake linked with physical activity. Middlesbrough on the Move will also be unveiled. This will be a major initiative started later in the year which aims to explore whether it is feasible to change the lifestyle of a whole community in terms of a health diet and levels of physical activity.

Other key speakers from the North East of England include Professor John Wilkinson from the North East Public Health Observatory on Teesside. He will highlight the need and usage of population obesity monitoring at a regional and national level. Professor David Hunter, Durham University will take a controversial look at whether various government policies and initiatives have had much impact on the health of the nation and consider whether the government fear of being labelled the ‘nanny state’ is part of the problem. Professor Martin White, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, will explore the impact of the retail environment on shopping and dietary habits.

And Charlie Foster from Oxford University will highlight findings from two large systematic reviews, which have identified effective interventions to increase physical activity levels using both individual and environmental approaches.

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