Obesity
Speakers
Oliver Smith Oliver joined the Cross-Government Obesity Unit as Deputy Director for Programmes and Delivery in January 2008. Having initially focused on the publication of the strategy, “Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives”, he is now responsible for delivering the programmes that it set out. Between 2005 and 2007, Oliver was a Strategy Adviser in the Department of Health’s Strategy Unit. He worked on a diverse range of issues, often centred on the development of health reform but also including the Department’s efficiency programme within the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. Prior to working in the Department of Health, Oliver was a Policy Adviser within the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, involved in projects on energy, policing, and housing amongst many others. He has also worked as a strategy consultant for OC&C Strategy Consultants. |
Professor Klim McPherson Professor Klim McPherson is the Chair, of the National Heart Forum. He has a Visiting Professorship in the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and a Fellowship at New College, Oxford University. His research is in epidemiological methods and women’s health. He runs an option in Health & Disease for final year undergraduates in Human Sciences, teaches on the obstetrics and gynaecology clinical course and has some responsibility for the medical students at New College. His current commitments are to committees of NICE; Chair of the CVD population Programmes Development Group, a member of the Public Health Interventions Advisory Council, and the MHRA; Expert Advisory Group on Women’ Heath. He was a member of the Guidelines Development Group on heavy menstrual bleeding. His experience in modelling and of epidemiological policy extrapolations is extensive. He was Co-Author of the recent Foresight Report on Tackling Obesities- Future Choices with The Government Office for Science, for which he was responsible for the epidemiological modelling. His knowledge of the epidemiology of chronic disease is comprehensive. He is on the editorial board of several journals. He has chaired the British Breast Group, the European Public Health Association and the Society for Social Medicine among other research bodies. Professor McPherson’s particular interests are coronary heart disease prevention and the causes of breast cancer, particularly the hormonal implications of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). He has some 400 peer reviewed publications in academic journals. He was/is the principal investigator in several large cohort studies of the surgical treatment of menstrual disorders, funded by the DoH. He is concerned with public health policy as it affects primary prevention. He is a strong advocate of a genuine multidisciplinary collaboration in public health. |
Dr Colin Waine Colin Waine was a principal in general practice in his hometown of Bishop Auckland from 1961-1993, during which time he became very involved in GP training. In the Royal College of General Practitioners he was founding Chairman of the clinical and research division and later Chairman of its Council. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Sunderland University and Chairman of the National Obesity Forum. His current interests are the management of chronic diseases, especially diabetes and his research interests relate to this and respiratory disease. Dr Waine has published and lectured widely on the care of children and chronic disease management in primary care. In 1990 he was awarded the OBE for services to medicine. |
Melanie Leech Melanie has been Director General of the Food and Drink Federation, the largest trade association representing food and drink manufacturers, since August 2005. Melanie began her working life as a Police Constable in the Metropolitan Police Service. She joined the civil service in 1988 and has worked in a variety of departments including HM Customs and Excise, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Office of the Rail Regulator. From 2001-2004 she was seconded as Executive Director of the Association of Police Authorities, before returning to the Cabinet Office as Director of Communications. Melanie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Institute of Directors. She is a Trustee of the Carnegie UK Trust, chairing its Rural sub-committee, and a Governor of St Margaret's CE Primary School, Angmering. |
Dr Caroline Mulvihill Dr. Caroline Mulvihill has a background in nutrition and is a Registered Public Health Nutritionist. She is an analyst at the Centre for Public Health Excellence at NICE and has worked on a range of NICE guidance including obesity (published December 2006) and maternal and child nutrition (published March 2008). Prior to working at NICE, Caroline worked at the Health Development Agency (which merged with NICE in 2005). At the HDA Caroline worked on developing the evidence base for diet, nutrition and obesity and was an author on the HDA evidence briefings for the management of obesity and overweight, promotion of breastfeeding and the prevention of low birth weight. She also worked on other evidence base briefings including prevention of alcohol misuse, effectiveness of home visiting interventions and prevention of teenage suicide. Before joining the HDA, Caroline was the food and nutrition research manager for the Health Education Authority. Caroline has also worked at the University of London (King’s College and the Institute of Education) on a number of research projects concerning the health of children and young people, for example iron deficiency anaemia, physical activity and the National Healthy Schools Standard. |
Dr Clare Hencken
At the other end of the continuum, Clare also conducts research in the area of obesity management which utilises a unique support and monitoring programme for those in weight management. The main emphasis of the work we do is to focus on health status and improving the “at risk status” of many overweight and obese people. This is done by incorporating anthropometrical indices with metabolic syndrome indices ( cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and triglycerides) as measurements of successful intervention. Clare has formed a University of Portsmouth spin out company called Bodymorph Ltd which includes the work we do at the elite athlete end (Sportmorph), provides a screening process for those individuals who are trying to optimise their health status (Healthmorph) and still works closely with the overweight and obese population to improve their quality of life (Bodymorph). Clare is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a member of the UKPHA and BASES. |
Claire Ramwell Claire Ramwell is Head of Healthy Living & Sport for Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. After completing her Masters degree at the University of Virginia, USA she returned to the UK and has worked in health related physical activity, within a Local Authority setting for over 14 years. Working closely with the NHS, and through the Local Strategic Partnership she’s involved in raising the profile and status of physical activity and championing its role in contributing to key local priorities and cross cutting agendas; most recently this has involved the refresh of the Local Area Agreement. Claire was inaugural Chair and has been involved on the steering group of the North West Health and Physical Activity Forum since its inception in 1999. |
Peter Lipman Peter is Policy Director at sustainable transport charity Sustrans, www.sustrans.org.uk, a member of Communities and Local Government eco-town expert reference group and sits on the national planning and policy groups of Stop Climate Chaos, www.stopclimatechaos.org. In his personal capacity he is chair of trustees of the Centre for Sustainable Energy, www.cse.org.uk, and Transition Network (the charity supporting the work of transition towns) http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionNetwork. |
Lisa Newson Knowsley Primary Care Trust has a strategic and Operational role to support the development of the Healthy Weight agenda across all age groups. Lisa is a health Psychologist and has worked in clinical, training, academia and now in public health with a focus on eating behaviour and expertise in behaviour change. |