Behaviour and Health Research Unit Annual Lecture 2017

Tackling childhood obesity: Are we doing enough?

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Speaker: Corinna Hawkes, Professor of Food Policy and Director, Centre for Food Policy.

Date: Thursday 11 May 2017, 6pm - 7pm, followed by networking reception

Venue: Howard Lecture Theatre, Downing College, Cambridge, CB2 1DQ

The 2017 Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU) annual lecture, in association with the Centre for Science and Policy, will be given by Corinna Hawkes, Professor of Food Policy, City University.

Tackling childhood obesity is a public health priority. Today one fifth of children are overweight or obese when they start school at age 4, rising to one third of children at age 11-15. Children living in the 10% most deprived areas of the country are twice as likely to be obese as their peers in the least deprived areas. Poor dietary habits and physical inactivity underpin obesity in children but also increase the risk of later weight gain.

The scale of the problem necessitates a population-based approach to intervention which particularly protects the most vulnerable. In this lecture, Professor Hawkes will provide an overview of actions being taken in the UK and around the world to address childhood obesity, focusing on actions to improve diets. She will assess progress to date, and argue that real progress will only be made when a more integrated, inclusive approach is taken to addressing the problem.

In addition to Directing the Centre for Food Policy at City University, Professor Hawkes also Co-Chairs the Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report, and sits on the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems, the Lancet Commission on Obesity and the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). She was previously the Head of Policy and Public Affairs for the World Cancer Research Fund International.