NCCOR’s Connect & Explore Webinar unpacks The Lancet special issue, discussing how public support for policy actions and new thinking can move the needle on obesity
Despite reported areas of decline, no country has reversed its obesity epidemic. Researchers increasingly believe that governments and stakeholders should act urgently to decrease the prevalence of obesity, including childhood obesity. Papers in the new Lancet series review the growing consensus on core policy actions, reasons for patchy progress, and opportunities to aid obesity prevention.
The Lancet Series examines the competing perspectives on the causes and solutions for obesity and why rethinking our approaches is critical to reversing the epidemic. From regulatory action to empowering the public, the authors highlight opportunities to break the cycle of demand for foods of poor nutritional quality and move the focus toward changing food environments.
To date, the public health approach has been education first, and calls for policy change have largely stayed as an exchange between public health professionals and decision-makers, said Dr. Terry Huang, a Lancet Series lead author. “However, more is needed to advance and sustain political and institutional action by focusing on increasing public support and popular demand for obesity prevention,” said Huang, who serves on the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) External Scientific Panel.
Connect & Explore will give you the first chance to hear from authors and ask them questions. Learn how reframing the issue can further progress. Guest speakers will discuss actions that can be taken by governments and efforts from industry and civil society to create a Culture of Health.
Join us at 2 pm, Eastern, on Monday, February 23, for the one-hour event. Speakers include:
- Terry T-K Huang, PhD, MPH, CPH, Professor, School of Public Health, City University of New York
- Boyd Swinburn, MBChB, MD, FRACP,Professor, Population Nutrition and Global Health, University of Auckland; and Alfred Deakin Professor, Co-Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Melbourne
- Tracy Orleans, PhD, Senior Scientist, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
You must register to receive webinar access. The event is free but attendance is limited, so tell a friend and register today!
Register for Connect & Explore: Rethinking Obesity Prevention—The Second Lancet Series on Obesity
Please consider sharing this information on your social networks using the hashtag #ConnectExplore. We will also be live tweeting the event so be sure to follow the conversation at @NCCOR. For those who cannot attend, the webinar will be recorded and archived on www.nccor.org.
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The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) brings together four of the nation’s leading research funders – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – to address the problem of childhood obesity in America.