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| IOTF presentation on prevention at Stockholm |
| The International Obesity TaskForce will be making a major contribution
to the Berzelius Symposium on Prevention of Obesity in Stockholm in August
26-28.
Prof Philip James, IOTF chairman and Prof Shiriki Kumanyika, who chairs the prevention working group, will address the conference on the task force and its role in prevention. Prof Stephan Rössner, president-elect of the International Association for the Study of Obesity and chair of the IOTF's communications group, will speak about the role and responsibility of the media. Dr Bill Dietz, chair of the IOTF childhood obesity working group, will address the symposium on the Boston experience , while task force member Dr Jaap Seidell, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, will talk about the role of the food industry. Prof Kumanyika will be accompanied by other members of the PHAPO prevention working group, including Dr Robert Jeffery who will speak about community intervention measures in Minnesota. The IOTF working group on Public Health Approaches to the Prevention of Obesity (PHAPO) special session at the Stockholm symposium on Friday 28th August will look at practical strategies - related to transport, environment, work facilities, education, health and food policies, and even social and economic policies - which can help address the underlying societal causes of obesity. In societies dominated by by sedentary lifestyles and the abundance of high fat/energy dense food, public health efforts to prevent obesity increasing cannot rely solely on health education strategies targeted just at individuals. Whole living and working environments need to be transformed so that they can support lifelong healthy eating and physical activity habits for the entire community. The aim of the session will be to stimulate wider discussion; a survey will be circulated among those attending the symposium (and a selection of other professionals) about one month beforehand on proposed strategies in different populations and countries around the world. Resulting feedback will be considered before a final charter for action is prepared. The IOTF hopes that a series of practical initiatives will emerge leading to the development of truly effective public health action on obesity. The deadline for registration has been extended and late registrations
are still being accepted for the Berzelius Symposium 42 - Prevention of
Obesity - August 26-28.
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