Author: Victoria Crown

The Launch of British Journal of Obesity

Launching at the end of April 2015, the British Journal of Obesity is a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication for all healthcare professionals with an interest in the management of obesity. The British Journal of Obesity provides up-to-date discussion and content to assist healthcare professionals in providing a unified, multidisciplinary approach to this modern-day epidemic.

The journal aims to establish itself as the publication of choice for healthcare professionals managing this global health phenomenon. Val Bullen, Director of Education at CCH, and Victoria Feenie, Communications Executive at CCH, (both with Masters degrees in a health care area) are publishing a peer-reviewed article in the journal, titled “The human cost of failing to address obesity”. The article has an associated CPD element, giving readers the opportunity to gain CPD through CCH.

The journal is available free for healthcare professionals in the UK and Ireland.

Royal Society of Medicine New Members Reception

Attending events at the Royal Society of Medicine is always a highlight for the CCH team. A couple of the team members attended the new members reception recently, a great opportunity to meet new members of the RSM and hear about the events and talks that are planned for the forthcoming academic year. It was also a chance to become re acquainted with the RSM library which holds 3,500 e-journals and over 600,000 items in its collection, some of the fascinating items in their collection date back to the fifteenth century.

Obesity Summit 2015 London

In mid-April, CCH attended the Obesity Summit, at The 02 in London. This three day event brought together a wide range of health professionals including veterinarians and nurses to research scientists and bariatric physicians. The delegates attended from across the world, including Botswana, New Zealand, Denmark and the United States to discuss aspects of obesity development and treatment. The main discussions and presentations included prediction, prevention, diagnosis and management, gene-environment interactions, drug development, foetal programming, and lipidomics.

There were some interesting research presentations dealing with the mechanisms of the metabolic disturbances seen in obesity so as to develop new drugs that could be used in the treatment of those severely affected. However, an interesting presentation by Dr Onakpoya from Oxford University showed how people become desperate to lose weight and spend millions of pounds on dietary supplements for which there is little evidence of efficacy. As there is no “magic pill”, and some can be dangerous, he considers these supplements should be subject to the same regulatory approval as normal medications. A presentation by Dr Robert Pretlow from Seattle on the use of a smartphone App for treatment of obesity in adolescents was based on the addiction model is still controversial.

Apps will become increasingly important in monitoring individual health and is an area that CCH will continue to monitor closely for possible inclusion in its courses.

John Feenie & Syed Ali, Middle East Visit

Making their way across the globe to update their understanding of the ever growing issue of obesity in the region, CCH team members travelled to the Middle East, where they visited several hospitals facing this epidemic. With the fastest growing rate of obesity in the world, leading healthcare professionals in the Middle East are working to minimise obesity by attempting a multidisciplinary approach. The CCH team were shown around some of the most prominent hospitals of the Arab nations, such as the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Saudi Arabia, the Rashid Hospital in Dubai and the Al-Gharbia Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Dealing with a tsunami of obese patients on a regular basis, healthcare specialists in the region understand that the Middle East must act quickly to tackle the problem. CCH’s Royal College of Nursing accredited Living and Working with Obesity short course gives nurses a greater understanding of tackling obesity in a multidisciplinary team.

Canadian Obesity Summit 2015

Canada’s top all-obesity scientific 5-day conference is took place last Tuesday 28 April in Toronto. This unique, interdisciplinary conference is designed to share current understanding of the causes, complications, treatments and prevention approaches for obesity. The Summit was a great opportunity to hear about cutting-edge research and to network with other obesity health professionals and researchers. There were dedicated tracts for health practitioners and inspiring workshops organised by groups working in the obesity space.

To find out more, go to this link.

Learning Technologies Conference 2015

CCH was present at the Learning Technologies 2015 show. It was an afternoon filled with inspiration for our Digital Learning Technologies team. Now time to apply these innovative ideas and latest technology into our courses and CCH-X platform!

Office move to LSBU

With an increasing demand for a larger office space, to reflect the growth and development of the company, CCH are delighted to announce our new office move. On Monday 5th January 2015, the company recolocated to Technopark, London South Bank University, which is located in the bustling Elephant and Castle area.

We are sure that the CCH team will thrive in the new enviroment!

National Obesity Awareness Week 12 – 18 January 2015

Taking place in the second week of January is National Obesity Awareness Week 2015. This year NOAW is asking people in the UK to make a New Year’s resolution to help improve the nation’s health. From being more physically active to cooking more healthily NOAW are asking you to get involved and make your health New Year’s resolution!

The aim of the week is to highlight the public health issue that obesity presents but also provide the public with more information and advice on the ways they can improve their health to prevent or tackle obesity.

“Obesity is one of the great public health issues of our time, and it is important that local communities come together to help each other to support their health and wellbeing.” Professor David Haslam, Chairman of the National Obesity Forum, and CCH AAB member

CCH encourage you to post your New Year’s Resolutions and receive information on healthy eating, nutrition and exercise by visiting the National Obesity Awareness Week 2015 website.

Olga Hamilton attendance at ASO meeting 13 January 2015

The Association for the Study of Obesity, a charitable organisation dedicated to the understanding and treatment of obesity, held its East of England Regional Meeting in January of this year. CCH tutor Olga Hamilton, was delighted to be present at this meeting. In attendance were leading healthcare professionals in the field of obesity including, Dr Carly Hughes, Dr Anthony Leeds and Dr Helen Parretti. The meeting focussed on the science behind the NICE guidelines for the prevention and management of obesity and the recent updates. This was followed by discussions that proved to be highly motivating and extremely thought-provoking.

The NHS Chief Executive, Simon Stevens recently urged doctors and nurses to kick junk food and shed some pounds to set a good example to patients

The National Obesity Forum Annual Conference, the Royal Geographical Society, London

The National Obesity Forum held its annual conference on the 26th November at the grand Royal Geographical Society in London. CCH were delighted to accept an invitation to attend this exciting and informative event. Leading specialists in the field of obesity, lecturers and respected speakers gathered to discuss the increasing challenges that society faces in the rise of obesity.

After a warm welcome speech was delivered by the Chair of the National Obesity Forum, David Haslam, talks began of obesity in early life, primarily in pregnancy and childhood. The discussion then swiftly proceeded towards obesity in the adult body and mind, and questions such as ‘Why do we overeat?’, ‘How big is the problem?’ and ‘Which diet?’ were raised. As the conference drew to an end, the final talks considered weight management through cutting edge scientific methods and a balanced approach to exercise. Proving to be a thought provoking and highly enjoyable event, the CCH Team greatly look forward to next year’s conference.

No Time to Weight! Obesity Australia Conference, Sydney, Australia

CCH Executive Chairman, John Feenie, attended the Obesity Australia conference held at the new Charles Perkins Centre in Sydney, Australia, this November. The conference, which was partially sponsored by CCH, attracted delegates from all over Australia to discuss strategies to improve understanding of the multitude of factors to be addressed to deal with the problem of obesity. During a number of presentations, frequent reference was made to the cost of obesity in the country which in 2008 was estimated to be $58 billion annually. We will be using information from the Conference in our Postgraduate Diploma module, Comparative Approaches to Obesity Care.

Diabetes Exchange Summit at The Royal Society, London

This summit took place on World Diabetes day, which is celebrated every year on the 14th November to engage people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. Barbara Young, the Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, reported some daunting figures:

She called for more effective health checks and intervention strategies and one of the discussion panels talked about how the NHS can implement preventive measures in the UK. There was also opportunity to hear about some of the succesful initiatives such as the Candem Diabetes Integrated Care Practice Unit. CCH will be developing a shortcourse, Living and Working with Diabetes, so look out for it on our website.