Eat well, move more, live longer - could it really be that simple?

Alison Gallagher, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, presents as part of the Civic Lecture Series her Inaugural Professorial Lecture.

Obesity remains a major public health challenge and represents a significant health, financial and societal burden. In Northern Ireland, an estimated 60% of adults and up to 40% of children are overweight or obese. In response to the high prevalence of obesity, public health initiatives aim to help people make small, sustainable, improvements to their diet, activity levels and other behaviours, with a view to positively impacting on public health. However, as overweight and obesity become more normalised within society, many may fail to recognise excess body weight in themselves and/or in others, thereby reducing the uptake and impact of public health interventions and messages designed to tackle the serious problem of obesity.

With a focus on diet and physical activity, this lecture will explore the evidence underpinning what appear to be simple and intuitive public health messages. Drawing on research findings from experimental, observational and intervention studies undertaken across a range of population groups, novel approaches aimed at encouraging and promoting healthy behaviours will be considered and will ask whether tackling the current obesity epidemic can really be as simple as helping people make healthier choices.

This event takes place in the Teaching Centre, Block MU, Magee campus.