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Leeds Beckett academic invited to help shape the way government tackles childhood obesity
Dr James Nobles, a Research Fellow in Public Health and Obesity at Leeds Beckett University within the Centre of Applied Obesity Research, has been invited to discuss the subject with the Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSCC) at the House of Commons.
Earlier this month, he was part of a team that submitted a response to the HSCC inquiry on childhood obesity, which is helping shape the next version of the Childhood Obesity Plan. He has now been asked to appear before the HSCC to offer his opinions.
He said: “There are three main areas that we plan to call upon the Government to consider.
“Firstly, how they could utilise a whole systems approach to better tackle childhood obesity. A whole systems approach acknowledges that obesity is caused by a complex and interconnected set of factors, which no single approach will solve. We require local and national governments to rally their leaders, to draw on their expertise, and to agree on common shared outcomes, which can change the environments in which we all live, work and play. The Childhood Obesity Plan has started to do this, but we need more collective actions rather than singular solutions.
“Secondly, we want to bring into focus the one-third of children who are overweight and obese; these children were not considered in the first version of the Childhood Obesity Plan. At the moment, very little money is invested in weight management services in England, with almost half of our Local Authorities not having a service for children. If left untreated, children who are overweight or obese are likely to develop more complex conditions, which also require more expensive care. As part of a whole systems approach, we need to consider how we can help all children and young people, and not just try to prevent obesity from spreading further.
“Finally, I will urge them to think about weight stigma, and how this has negative implications on any efforts at trying to tackle obesity. We need to create a society that promotes and supports a healthier environment for all.
I will challenge the HSCC to think about new, more aligned ways of working on one of this century’s most complex and wicked issues.”
James will appear at the Health and Social Care Select Committee tomorrow (Tuesday 1 May).