North East England

Emma Giles
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Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom

The North East Obesity Forum (NEOF) aims to promote contact between members of all organisations in the North East of England that have an interest in any aspect of obesity and its health and social consequences. Through such interaction NEOF aims to support research into the causes and prevention of obesity, and to promote action to reduce its burden. NEOF is a network of the Association for the Study of Obesity. It holds two meetings annually, bringing together national and regional perspectives. Attendance at these meeting is open to anyone with an interest in obesity, and may be of particular interest to researchers, clinicians, health services, local authority, public health, commissioners of obesity services, and academics.

The NEOF multidisciplinary committee includes:

Dr Emma Giles - Chair - Reader in Public Health Behaviour Change - e.giles@tees.ac.uk

Dr Alison Innerd - Committee Member - Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise - A.Innerd@tees.ac.uk

Dr Lauren Bussey - Committee Member - Lecturer in Psychology - L.Bussey@tees.ac.uk

Ruth Boocock - Committee Member - Senior Lecturer in Dietetics - R.Boocock@tees.ac.uk

Priya Ahmed - Committee Member - PhD Health Psychology Student - Priya.Ahmed@tees.ac.uk

Jo Smith - Committee Member - Consultant Dietitian TEWV - jo.smith13@nhs.net

Dr Natalie Connor - Committee Member - Research Associate in Public Health and Coproduction at Teesside University/ Research Associate at Tees Valley Sport - N.Connor@tees.ac.uk

Kate Sheffer - Committee Member - MSc Epidemiology Student, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - katesheffer14@gmail.com

Scott Lloyd - Committee Member - Advanced Public Health Practitioner, Public Health South Tees - Scott_Lloyd@middlesbrough.gov.uk

Emma Gibson - Committee Member - Programme Lead, Public Health, Gateshead Council - EmmaGibson@Gateshead.Gov.UK

Twitter account @NE_ObesityForum

Meetings

There are no meetings currently scheduled.

Past Meetings

North East Obesity Forum and Fuse Behaviour Change Webinar

Wednesday 4 November, 12.00 to 13.00, online Zoom Workshop

This year our event was an online webinar jointly hosted by NEOF and Fuse Behaviour Change theme, in response to World Mental Health Day which was the 10th October 2020.

Programme and speakers

Mish Lorraine and Anthony Heslop – Experts by Experience

Local Approaches to Healthy and Sustainable Living

2nd March 2020, 13:00-14:00, Newcastle University

Programme and speakers

Dr Mark Fishpool, Director, Middlesbrough Environment City Trust: ‘One Planet Living; A Partnership Approach to Healthy and Sustainable Living’

Joe Dunne, Food Partnership Coordinator, Middlesbrough Environment City Trust: 'Role of Food Partnerships in Supporting Healthy and Sustainable Lifestyles’

Middlesbrough Environment City is a charity dedicated to promoting healthy and sustainable living using the ten principles of One Planet Living. They work extensively in and around the Tees Valley to support healthy lifestyles and create sustainable change through community action and events.

North East Obesity Forum Meeting - Wellbeing in the age of austerity

28th March 2019, 12:00-13:00, Gateshead Civic Centre, Bridges Room

Programme and speakers

Mandy Cheetham – Research Associate with Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health and embedded researcher in Gateshead Council

Sarah Gorman – Chief Executive Officer for Edberts and Pattinson House

Joel Halligan – ESRC funded PhD student

Zoë Bell – ESRC funded PhD student

Barriers to Health Lifestyle

18th October, 2017 - Newcastle University

Programme Flyer

Programme and speakers

Joel Halligan, PhD Student. “No more Sunday dinners: Welfare 'reform' and food insecurity in Northeast England”

Dr Susanna Mills, Public health specialty registrar and NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow. "Home cooking: Barrier or facilitator of a healthy lifestyle?"

Scott Lloyd, Health Improvement Commissioning Lead, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and

Andy Daly-Smith (via video), Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity and Behavioural Science, Leeds Beckett University

‘Pilot evaluation of a curriculum based pedometer programme in primary schools’

April 2017 - Newcastle University

Tackling the food swamp from a community, third sector and council approach

Meeting Report Programme Flyer

Speaker Presentations

Community First Elswick - A group of local people that live, work or just have a passion for improving health and social issues in the West End of Newcastle. "Citizen leadership in improving the health of our community"

Steph Downey - #NoMcDondaldsKenton: Rule 6 Group. "Never forget, David did beat Goliath!"

Jamie Sadler - Food Nation managing director. "Developing the Food Newcastle Partnership"

Craig Blundred - Consultant in Public Health Newcastle City Council. "A council approach to food and obesity in Newcastle"

October 2016 - Gateshead Civic Centre

Weight Loss Surgery

View the Meeting report and abstracts

Dr Yitka Graham - Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sunderland and Researcher in the Department of General Surgery at City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust who will discuss “Post-surgical experiences of weight loss surgery, what research tells us”

Mr Peter Small - Consultant Surgeon, Directorate of General Surgery, Sunderland Royal Hospital who will discuss “What can Weight Loss Surgery achieve and why are Referral Guidelines not followed?”

Prof Roy Taylor - Professor of Medicine and Metabolism, MR Centre, Newcastle University who will discuss “What can Weight Loss Surgery do to diabetes and other conditions?”

Maureen Boyle - Senior Specialist Dietitian (Bariatric Surgery) at NHS, Sunderland Royal Hospital who will discuss “Dietary issues for Weight Loss Surgery patients before and after surgery”

April 2016 - Newcastle University

Debate: 'We need a sugar tax, NOW'

Please read the report and find the presentations below.

We need a Sugar Tax Now! Dr Vicki McGowan - Post-Doctoral Research Associate - Health and Social Care Institute, Teesside University.

We need a Sugar Tax Now! Dr Shelina Visram - Lecturer in Public Policy and Health - School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health, Durham University.

We don't need a Sugar Tax Now! Peter Wright - Environmental Health and Trading Standards Manager - Gateshead Metropolitan Council.

We don't need a Sugar Tax Now! Ali Barnes - Research Associate (Dietitian) - Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University

October 2015 - Teeside University

Is fast-food the fast track to obesity?

This meeting was attended by 25 delegates with 3 presenting speakers. Please find below the presentations and report.

North East Obesity Forum Report
Is the proliferation of takeaway food outlets contributing to unhealthy diet and obesity? - Dr Thomas Burgoine, University of Cambridge
Wading through the fast food swamp - Peter Wright, Gateshead Metropolitan Council
Takeaway engagement: Ways to bait the vendor - Louis Goffe, Newcastle University

April 2015 - Newcastle University

Obesity and Mental Health

This meeting was attended by 40 delegates with 4 presenting speakers. Please see there presentations below.

The challenges and triumphs of working as a dietitian within mental health - Samantha Mulholland, NTW NHS Trust
Mental health and obesity: A clinician's perspective - Catriona Gray, NTW NHS Trust
Should we support adults with learning disabilities and obesity to lose weight? - Craig Melville, University of Glasgow
The psychology of self-esteem in childhood obesity - Andrew Hill, Leeds University

October 2014 - Teesside University

Paediatric Obesity Revisited