Tipping the scales against obesity: conference

Friday, 2 November 2007

Understanding what's behind the obesity epidemic and proposing strategies to turn it around are the aims of a conference at the Adelaide Town Hall on Monday 5 November.

Organised by the University of Adelaide, the conference will draw together local and state government, health specialists, researchers, economists food industry representatives, media and community groups to discuss what can be done to "make us change our ways".

"This will be the first time in South Australia that a multidisciplinary group, the majority of them leaders in their field and all currently working in areas which influence obesity, have been brought together to brainstorm about effective intervention," said Conference Organiser Deborah Nankervis.

'The Shape of things to come' is organised as part of the NOBLE (Nutrition Obesity Lifestyle and Environment Studies) research project, funded by an Australian Research Council linkage grant. NOBLE is a multidisciplinary project investigating the problem of obesity in the South Australian population.

Health Minister John Hill will give the opening address and Professor Basil Hetzel AC, NOBLE Advisory Committee Chair and renowned for his contribution to global public health, is Conference Convenor. Adelaide Thinker in Residence Professor Ilona Kickbusch is guest speaker.

NOBLE chief investigator University of Adelaide's Professor Dick Ruffin will present an overview of the NOBLE program and eight PhD researchers will discuss their new research. They include:

● Emily Brindal (University of Adelaide, based at CSIRO's Human Nutrition) - investigating the role of the social environment in fast food intake;
● Neil Coffee (Geographical and Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide) - researching the 'walkability' of urban spaces and the impact on activity levels and health outcomes;
● Sarah Appleton (Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide) - investigating the complexity of the relationship between obesity and respiratory diseases like asthma.

Health broadcaster Dr Norman Swan will facilitate a forum discussion on strategies to reverse the obesity epidemic.

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