Globalisation:National Obesity Forum
Emma Patrick Christina McDonald Rachel Cunningham
http://www.nationalobesityforum.org.uk/
Contents
History
The National Obesity Forum was created in 2000 by a group of health professionals and is a registered charity (1109600).
The main aims of the NOF are to:
-Increase the public focus on obesity and develop more awareness about the health implications.
-To help educate more people on the topic of obesity and health from an earlier age.
-To encourage the Government to make tackling obesity a priority, in order to save the NHS money in future years.
The NOF is currently chaired by Dr David Haslam, and was previously chaired by Dr Colin Waine.
People
Views on tackling obesity
The National Obesity Forum advocate many ways of tackling obesity.
-They advise increasing activity levels, and put importance on making exercise ‘fun’ and easy by focussing on ordinary activities such as gardening, shopping, and sports.
-They also advise making a personal plan to suit each individual.
-They provide information on how to have a healthy diet and put importance on portion control.
- Advice is also given on 'positive thinking' and how this can impact a person's ability to lose weight.
The NOF also back more drastic and often risky means of weight loss, including; very low calorie diets, medication, meal replacements, and even surgery.
With regards to weight loss medication (or 'Anti-Obesity Medication), the NOF mention two specific drugs - Sibutramine(Reductil) and Orlistat(Alli).
One of these drugs - Orlistat - was actually the first 'over the counter' weight loss drug available, and was produced by Glaxosmithkline, which is one of the NOFs parter organisations. [1]
The NOF is highly funded by pharmaceutical companies, however, there have been disputes regarding whether weight loss medication actually works. Former President of the NOF, Dr Ian Campbell, resigned from his post after stating that the forum places too much importance on weight loss drugs, and not enough on putting measures in place to prevent obesity in the first place. Dr Campbell claimed that the forum had changed direction and did not have the same outlook as it did when it began.
[2]
NOF Conference
The NOF’s conferences take place every year and claim to be discussing obesity and the ways in which obesity are being tackled. The NOF’s conferences have been running for 10 years as of October 2010. The two conferences that have been looked at are the 2009 conference and the 2010 conference Both conferences are said to be aimed at certain people in certain professions. The professions that both conferences are aimed at are all Healthcare Professionals including Government Representatives, Policy Makers, Healthcare Promotion Specialists, Health Information Services, Food, Pharmaceutical & Leisure Industries and the Media[3]
Contact Information
Notes
- ↑ Orlistat, "Overweight and Obese Treatment - GlaxoSmithKline Receieves European Commission to Market Alli", Orlistat, 21 January 2009, accessed 19 October 2010
- ↑ The Guardian, "Obesity Group Founder Quits in Row Over Drug Firms' Cash", accessed 1 November 2010
- ↑ "Our Conference", NOF Website, accessed on 1st November 2010
