Obesity, diabetes a hot topic for Thursday

Obesity is fast becoming an unstoppable disease, overwhelming health services nationwide.

The disease has proven links with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Professor Philip James, an internationally renowned expert in this area and president of the International Association for the Study of Obesity will speak in Hamilton on Thursday about this issue.

Diabetes NZ Waikato Inc organised the public address with the Australia New Zealand Obesity Society and the New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes.

Branch president Murray Dear is inviting all members of the public to attend.

“The address will be very educational for those with diabetes but also for anyone who has an interest in weight management.

“We need a global change to health if we are to overcome this disease. This includes changes to not only personal habits but to international food policies and urban planning.

“Professor James has a great amount of knowledge to share and he will be supported by Professor Elaine Rush from AUT University and Dr Justine Wu from the Waikato Regional Diabetes Service who are both also very experienced in this field,” Mr Dear said.

When: Thursday 22 April 5.30pm – 7pm
Where: Genesis Room, Waikato Stadium
All welcome, light refreshments provided

All enquiries to Murray Dear: diabetesw@xtra.co.nz , 07 838 0127.

Media are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to Murray Dear.

Speaker biographies

Prof Philip James CBE, DSc, MD, FRCP, FRSE, MFPHM. President, International Association of the Study of Obesity; Hon. Professor of Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Professor James graduated with degrees in physiology and medicine from University College, London. His career has spanned studies in Jamaica of infantile malnutrition and gastroenteritis, directorship roles at the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, UK.  and the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, the establishment of the probable irreversible damage to pancreatic islet cell function in childhood malnutrition which now links with new evidence in a collaborative Asian/Australasian project of excess diabetes in the Asian communities where childhood malnutrition was endemic. This diabetes problem is markedly amplified by a susceptibility to diabetes in offspring of mothers malnourished in pregnancy. He developed the distinction between stunting and wasting in dealing with global malnutrition and developed the lithium technique for assessing salt sources to improve hypertensive management and induce reductions in national salt intakes.

He developed the current UN and medical approaches to assessing and measuring energy needs, specified the UN criteria for the extra physical activity needs for preventing weight gain, proposed the energy deficit approach to obesity and diabetes management and identified the lower lean tissue accretion in women relating to their excess prevalence of obesity. He chaired/wrote the first UK, European and WHO reports on obesity, diabetes and other chronic disease prevention, the first (SIGN) obesity management guidelines and the new approach to food labelling with traffic lights as indices of the food's nutritional profile. 

He devised the current global approach to BSE(food safety) management and the structural changes for Tony Blair's reorganization of the UK government to produce a Food Standards Agency; he wrote the "Three Wise Men" report on the need to develop an EU Food and Public Health Authority and chaired/wrote the United Nations Millennium Report on global nutrition and health challenges up to 2020. His group developed the criteria with WHO for identifying excess weight gain as in the top 10 risk factors for global disability and premature death. These analyses revealed the different impact of excess weight on the development of diabetes in different parts of the world.

Prof Elaine Rush PhD, Reg Nutr. Professor of Nutrition, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand council member Australia New Zealand Obesity Society, International Association of the Study of Obesity

Professor Elaine Rush has been involved in health and education for all her working career.  Gaining both MSc and PhD from the University of Auckland she has research expertise in the measurement of body composition, energy expenditure, physical activity, nutrition and risk factors for disease. A particular interest in ethnic differences particularly among Maori, Pacific Island, European and Indian populations in New Zealand has led to over 80 peer reviewed publications.

Elaine also serves on the Councils of a number of nutrition and obesity organisations and is the New Zealand representative for International Association for the Study of Obesity. Her research projects include a large diabetes prevention strategy and Project Energize in the Waikato, the health and growth of children whose mother’s had gestational diabetes and the longitudinal Pacific Island Family study which is tracking over 1000 Pacific children from birth. Elaine supervises a number of masters and doctoral students in the areas of nutrition, body composition and energy expenditure throughout the lifecycle.