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The ASO UK Congress on Obesity will include a mix of plenary lectures, oral communications and poster sessions and member-led symposia. The organising committee welcome suggestions from ASO members for symposia. Symposia are 1.5 hours long and the use of time and the number of contributors are flexible within the 1.5-hour time slot. Submit your proposal by 5 April.

If you'd like to feature your work as an oral communication or poster session, ASO is now welcoming abstract submissions.

We look forward to seeing you in Leeds!

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The deadline for nominations is 31 May 2019 and more details can be found on our Awards page.

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Embargo:

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood has claimed that a reformed Mental Health Act will be little more than ‘sticking plaster’’ unless the needs of children feature ‘first, last and foremost.’

Launching a new APPG report: ‘Children’s Mental Health Beyond the Green Paper: The Role of Practice Based Evidence,’ Chair, Jim Fitzpatrick MP said:

‘The Prime Minister’s pledge to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act (‘The Times,’ Thursday, 6th December 2018) is welcome in order to combat the ‘burning injustice’ of the disparity she has criticised in mental health care. However, reform is long overdue. If new legislation focuses purely upon the adult population, it will be as ineffective as sticking plaster, because poor mental health often makes its first appearance in childhood and is either missed or dismissed. The resultant full-blown adult crisis becomes entrenched and measures to combat it will be correspondingly difficult and costly.'

Our report offers a ‘practice based evidence’ approach. The needs of children are placed first, last and foremost and I am confident that the strategies outlined will contribute to a society that is mentally resilient as well as physically fit.’

Key recommendations:

• ‘Practice based evidence’; child centred strategies measuring what progress is being achieved (not what might be possible) against objectives such as those supplied by the National Audit Office in assessing the delivery of mental health services to children as set out in the Green Paper
• A commissioned authority to ensure the establishment of unified policies and standards for the inspection of children’s mental health
  The extension of responsibility for the children’s mental health workforce development beyond the Department of Health and Social Care to encompass the Department for Education and others with a comparable and demonstrable interest
• Strong focus on the needs of parents; main agents for change
• A substantial extension of the range of interventions beyond the limited compass of behavioural family therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
  An extension of the definition of the Children and Young People’s Health Service Data Set (CYPHS) to include all locations that deliver children’s mental health services through the Data Coordination Board.

Speaking on behalf of report sponsors, Play Therapy UK, Registrar Jeff Thomas said that a commitment to ‘joined up’ working from all agencies concerned with children’s welfare would be beneficial to health and cost
effective:

‘These proposals address the current crisis in children’s mental health; are already proven in practice and used successfully in 55 other countries, so their adoption in the UK would not be reliant on expensive and lengthy Government trials. They focus on play and creative arts therapies rather than strictly medical interventions; are capable of adaptation for children and young people across the age range and foster ‘joined up’ working that makes sound health and economic sense.’

Lead author, Helen Clark said that the inclusion of the child centred strategies in the APPG report would enable a new Mental Health Act to stand the test of time:

‘The Government’s official announcement of the proposed legislation makes no mention of children. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock says that one in four people will be affected by mental ill health at some point in their lives’.

What he does not say is that this may begin in childhood.

As Chancellor, Philip Hammond has said, ‘there are few more pressing needs than the needs of those who suffer mental illness.’
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/politics/budget-hammond-revealsmeasures-to-support-mental-health/7026537.

We agree.

It makes sense therefore, that the mental health needs of children (who depend upon the adult society to act in their best interests) must be the top priority.

The policies we offer in our new report will be the missing link for a reformed Mental Health Act and ensure that it can, and will, stand the test of time - by putting children first.’

Read the full report

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The 26th European Congress on Obesity is taking place in Glasgow on 28 April - 1 May 2019.

The Late Breaking submission system is now open, via the congress website.  The deadline for submission of Late Breaking abstracts is today 28 February 2019.

Don't forget that you can also benefit from FREE accommodation at ECO2019.  EASO has reserved the entire Glasgow Youth Hostel for the duration of our congress, and will offer FREE accommodation to New Investigators, students and delegates who may need travel support.   Accommodation at the Youth Hostel is shared accommodation and therefore suitable if you plan to travel as a group. Apply for this option via the EASO Awards system.

Visit the ECO2019 website to find out more about awards application, travel grants and youth hostel accommodation.

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Please see attached flyer for more details or go to www.obesityupdate.org   

Important deadlines

10^th December – Final date for abstract submissions

15^th January – Early bird registration deadline

Obesity Update 2019

Thursday 14th February 2019

Royal College of Physicians, London

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Children's Food Campaign - Read the full press release

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the adverse impact of aggressive HFSS food marketing on children’s eating and drinking habits. Public Health England’s preferred strategy is to ‘nudge’ families into taking healthier choices via initiatives such as the Sugar Smart and Be Food Smart apps, but many corporate companies have continued to target children ruthlessly.  Amongst other measures, the APPG on A Fit and Healthy Childhood urges the Government to:

• Ban the use of child-friendly characters to advertise junk food
• Extend existing regulation to restrict HFSS TV advertising until after the 9pm watershed
• Review and amend regulatory systems currently in place for online content, starting by extending existing policies regulating food marketing to children to online material
• Require that rogue adverts be reported to the ASA and sponsorships fully declared
• Introduce tougher restriction on the marketing and advertising of unhealthy food and commit extra resources to ways in which to target ‘hard to reach’ groups with healthy lifestyle initiatives
• Restore the £600 million cuts to councils’ public health funding and provide additional resources to support children and young people who are most seriously obese
• Fully adopt the UNICEF-advocated ‘child rights’ approach to marketing and this to underpin relevant legislative strategy

Read the Full Report

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The event will highlight how reformulating our obesogenic environments can create positive behaviours to promote a healthy weight. We will discuss current reformulation strategies to improve the food environment and explore how our environments can be changed to encourage people to be more physically active.

All-island Obesity Action Forum

Date: Tuesday November 13th, 10.00 to 13.30

Venue: The Richmond Education Centre, No. 1 North Brunswick Street, Dublin.

Find out more and register to attend this event

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Read the full statement here

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