GCPH Seminar 15: Lecture 5 - Prof Corinna Hawkes
What do we need to do differently to tackle obesity equitably? New thinking for next steps
Much progress has been made locally, nationally and globally in developing and delivering policies and interventions to prevent obesity. Yet the effectiveness of existing actions remains modest. Importantly, the latest data from Scotland and elsewhere indicates that inequality is rising, with the proportion of children at risk of being affected by overweight or obesity increasing in the most deprived areas while it declines in the least deprived places. This indicates new thinking is needed to tackle the challenge. But how does the thinking – and the doing – really need to change to tackle the problem?
Based on 20 years of working in the field, Corinna outlined her thinking on what needs to be done differently to tackle obesity, equitably. She explored the fundamentals of what this means for acting differently, through engaging with people affected by the problem, taking a more systems-based approach and aligning with economic goals. She highlighted not just what needs to be done, but how it needs to be done differently. Corinna drew on both her research and practice and provide, as an example of the new thinking, the work of the London Child Obesity Taskforce.
About the speaker
Prof Corinna Hawkes
Professor of Food Policy and Director of the Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London
Corinna Hawkes is Professor of Food Policy and Director, Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London. She is Vice Chair of the London Child Obesity Taskforce and a Distinguished Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health. She is Co-Investigator of the NIHR-funded Obesity Policy Research Unit and was a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Obesity. Between 2015-18 she was Co-Chair of the Global Nutrition Report. Her expertise lies in the development and design of public policies and actions throughout the food system to improve diets around the world.
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