National Obesity Awareness Week 2014 was launched yesterday with the publication of a report and a launch event held on the Terrace of the House of Commons.
With the kind support of Rosie Cooper MP and Rob Flello MP from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adult and Childhood Obesity, a sizeable number of MPs and Peers joined stakeholders from far and wide at a parliamentary reception to discuss how we should address the growing issue of obesity in the UK.
Guest of honour at the reception was Public Health Minister Jane Ellison MP who listened with keen interest to speeches from David Haslam, Chair of the National Obesity Forum and Damian Edwards who discussed his recent report which showed that cardboard cut-outs of doctors and nurses in supermarkets led to a spike in the sale of healthy foods.
She then gave an insightful speech in which she highlighted the steps the Government was already taking to address this issue, whilst acknowledging that there was still a long way to go. She welcomed National Obesity Awareness Week as an initiative and praised the media coverage which has sparked a new wave of public discussion on the issue.
Following her speech the Minister stayed at the reception for a considerable period to talk with attendees about the various issues that had been raised in the speeches and in the National Obesity Forum report, ‘State of the Nation’s Waistline – Obesity in the UK: Analysis and Expectations’ which had been published earlier in the day.
Her positive comments and support for the week were a huge boost to everyone involved in the initiative and will help to secure National Obesity Awareness Week as a vital date in the health policy calendar.
Whitehouse has been working with the National Obesity Forum over the last year to plan and deliver National Obesity Awareness Week 2014. Our support for the week has encompassed media relations, political engagement, stakeholder relations, a national healthy eating competition for children in conjunction with Disney, and supporting local events all over the country.
National Obesity Awareness Week continues until 19th January. For more information, or to see how you can get involved in NOAW2014 or next year’s event, please visit www.noaw2014.org.uk/
David Spencer
