National Obesity Awareness Week 12 – 18 January 2015
Taking place in the second week of January is National Obesity Awareness Week 2015. This year NOAW is asking people in the UK to make a New Year’s resolution to help improve the nation’s health. From being more physically active to cooking more healthily NOAW are asking you to get involved and make your health New Year’s resolution!
The aim of the week is to highlight the public health issue that obesity presents but also provide the public with more information and advice on the ways they can improve their health to prevent or tackle obesity.
“Obesity is one of the great public health issues of our time, and it is important that local communities come together to help each other to support their health and wellbeing.” Professor David Haslam, Chairman of the National Obesity Forum, and CCH AAB member
CCH encourage you to post your New Year’s Resolutions and receive information on healthy eating, nutrition and exercise by visiting the National Obesity Awareness Week 2015 website.
Read MoreOlga Hamilton attendance at ASO meeting 13 January 2015
The Association for the Study of Obesity, a charitable organisation dedicated to the understanding and treatment of obesity, held its East of England Regional Meeting in January of this year. CCH tutor Olga Hamilton, was delighted to be present at this meeting. In attendance were leading healthcare professionals in the field of obesity including, Dr Carly Hughes, Dr Anthony Leeds and Dr Helen Parretti. The meeting focussed on the science behind the NICE guidelines for the prevention and management of obesity and the recent updates. This was followed by discussions that proved to be highly motivating and extremely thought-provoking.
The NHS Chief Executive, Simon Stevens recently urged doctors and nurses to kick junk food and shed some pounds to set a good example to patients
Read MoreThe National Obesity Forum Annual Conference, the Royal Geographical Society, London
The National Obesity Forum held its annual conference on the 26th November at the grand Royal Geographical Society in London. CCH were delighted to accept an invitation to attend this exciting and informative event. Leading specialists in the field of obesity, lecturers and respected speakers gathered to discuss the increasing challenges that society faces in the rise of obesity.
After a warm welcome speech was delivered by the Chair of the National Obesity Forum, David Haslam, talks began of obesity in early life, primarily in pregnancy and childhood. The discussion then swiftly proceeded towards obesity in the adult body and mind, and questions such as ‘Why do we overeat?’, ‘How big is the problem?’ and ‘Which diet?’ were raised. As the conference drew to an end, the final talks considered weight management through cutting edge scientific methods and a balanced approach to exercise. Proving to be a thought provoking and highly enjoyable event, the CCH Team greatly look forward to next year’s conference.
Read MoreNo Time to Weight! Obesity Australia Conference, Sydney, Australia
CCH Executive Chairman, John Feenie, attended the Obesity Australia conference held at the new Charles Perkins Centre in Sydney, Australia, this November. The conference, which was partially sponsored by CCH, attracted delegates from all over Australia to discuss strategies to improve understanding of the multitude of factors to be addressed to deal with the problem of obesity. During a number of presentations, frequent reference was made to the cost of obesity in the country which in 2008 was estimated to be $58 billion annually. We will be using information from the Conference in our Postgraduate Diploma module, Comparative Approaches to Obesity Care.
Read MoreDiabetes Exchange Summit at The Royal Society, London
This summit took place on World Diabetes day, which is celebrated every year on the 14th November to engage people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. Barbara Young, the Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, reported some daunting figures:
She called for more effective health checks and intervention strategies and one of the discussion panels talked about how the NHS can implement preventive measures in the UK. There was also opportunity to hear about some of the succesful initiatives such as the Candem Diabetes Integrated Care Practice Unit. CCH will be developing a shortcourse, Living and Working with Diabetes, so look out for it on our website.
Read MoreFood Matters Live
This 3 day free Conference and Exhibition, sponsored by a variety of institutions, organisations and companies, was held at ExCel London recently.
Val Bullen, our Director of Education, went to the Thursday session to meet up with a speaker we had met at the Obesity Week Conference in Boston. Julie Meyer gave a talk on how Big Data can help inform nutritionists and dieticians in their work. The term ‘Big Data’ is being used a lot nowadays. It refers to the increasing amount of data that can be captured, communicated, aggregated, stored, and analysed for many purposes, mainly to inform business about their consumers. However it can also be used to inform clinical decisions such as monitoring dietary intake while in hospital. Following the talk, Val went to meet with Alacalc representatives to view their extensive programme that can be used to determine ingredients lists, recipes etc – very useful when attempting to create recipes for particular dietary requirements, as we will be doing in some of our short courses.
Read MoreNursing Times AWARDS
CCH were delighted to be invited and to attend the Nursing Times Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in late October. The awards aim to highlight, acknowledge and recognise the important work nurses do on a daily basis. The awards raise the profile of the nursing profession demonstrating the quality of work and inspiring initiatives being undertaken by nurses in all specialties and settings. The national awards ‘showcase the superb innovations that are shaping and improving nurse-led care in the NHS and independent healthcare providers’. Over 1,200 nursing professionals filled the room to hear which initiatives have inspired the nursing community over the last year.
It was a truly inspirational night and we felt delighted to have been a part of it. We congratulate all of the winners and finalists at this year’s awards. CCH are taking inspiration from the desire of nurses to be continually professionally updated with the development of our Professional Short Course, Living and Working with Obesity, designed for nurses.
Read MoreObesity Week: Where Science and Treatment Meet, Boston, Massachusetts
Over 5,300 people from across the world descended on the city of Boston for Obesity Week 2014. Obesity Week is the biggest obesity conference in the world attracting a wealth of expert speakers in the obesity field. The week kicked off with a welcome reception at the Museum of Science in Boston where Obesity Week attendees had the unique opportunity to explore the 30 different exhibits and attractions, whilst also connecting with obesity professionals from across the globe. Nine allied health organisations teamed up with Obesity Week to create provocative symposia on hot topics within obesity science and management. The week was filled with presentations showcasing new elements of cutting edge science in obesity, advances in clinical management of obesity, and obesity public policy. In between presentations there was time to visit the exhibitors and learn about new products being used in the treatment of obesity which will be incorporated into our courses.
Read MoreRethink Energy, Reshape the World at C3 Collaborating for Health Breakfast Seminar
On an autumnal morning in October CCH attended, at the Royal Society of Medicine, another C3 Collaborating for Health breakfast seminar. The seminar was given by Peggy Liu of JUCCCE, a non-profit organisation aiming to create a more ‘liveable China’. With 12% of China’s population diabetic, and 50% pre-diabetic, Ms Liu highlighted the need for urgent action to be taken in China particularly as rapid urbanisation is disconnecting people from nature and food. Ms Liu spoke of JUCCE’s ‘A new way to Eat’ programme that teaches primary school children in China how to eat in a way that is not just good for them but for the planet as well. Change in China is happening at great speed and the government reforms are often practical but radical – such as the policy to limit meat consumption as well as the banning of the consumption of endangered species.
The JUCCCE programme will incorporate gamification and social media to engage children and encourage them to make healthier food choices.
Read MoreHealthy, Wealthy and Wise? at C3 Collaborating for Health’s Breakfast Seminar
In the summer, members of the CCH team attended C3 Collaborating for Health’s July breakfast seminar with Dr Robert Lustig of the University of California, San Francisco. Dr Lustig, author of Fat Chance, a controversial book about the toxic role of sugar in health, spoke about de-bunking the 3 ‘myths’ of non-communicable diseases in his talk ‘Healthy, wealthy and wise?’. The first of these myths outlined by Dr Lustig was that the metabolic problems attributed to obesity can’t be wholly responsible for obesity, as the number of people with a BMI less than 30, and who are metabolically unhealthy is greater that the number of those who do have obesity and are unhealthy. The second myth that Dr Lustig sought to debunk was that ‘a calorie is not a calorie’ and that calories from sugar, particularly fructose, are the biggest problem. The finalmyth to be de-bunked was that of personal responsibility, and that we often do not have the means, access or knowledge to purchase healthy products. The talk generated a lively debate amongst attendees and sparkedsome thought provoking questions.
Read MoreASO Congress 2014 – Birmingham
The Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO) held its first two day Annual National Congress at the University of Birmingham in September. The meeting comprised a series of plenary lectures from leading obesity researchers with topics ranging from ‘Can we blame our genes when our jeans don’t fit’ by Dr Giles Yeo to ‘Are all calories equal’ by Professor Ian Macdonald. In between lectures there were breakout sessions which explored issues such as early life (0-6 years) obesity: determinants and interventions; weight loss maintenance-what works for whom?; new insights on obesity from neurobiology, as well as exploring food addiction as a useful concept to tackle obesity. CCH was particularly delighted that Professor Pinki Sahota of Leeds Beckett University, and a member of our Academic Advisory Board, was elected Chair of ASO.
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