Uppsala Health Summit 11-12 October: Pre-conference report

A report has been released for the upcoming Uppsala Health Summit on ending childhood obesity, outlining the challenges, including the effectiveness of the much debated sugar-tax, how to target interventions for immigrants and the role of industry. The report is produced to prepare the 200 delegates for discussions on concrete solutions.

“We aim for an open and frank dialogue, and we would like the participants to take with them a feeling of empowerment and new tools and ideas to tackle childhood obesity in their specific contexts”, says Rikard Landberg, researcher, chair of the Uppsala Health Summit programme committee for 2016 and one of the co-authors of the report.

Childhood obesity and risen in the public debate over the past year, as health advocates and experts in all parts of the world have raised warnings for the alarming number of affected children in middle-income and low-income settings particularly, where unequal growth and urbanization has paved the way for unhealthy diets and sedentary life-styles, putting children at high risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes type 2.

Last year, a WHO commission was tasked with producing a report specifying which approaches that are likely to be most effective in tackling childhood obesity. The recommendations were conveyed at World Health Assembly in May of this year. Uppsala Health Summit starts with these recommendations and aim to produce concrete actions that can be effective in different contexts around the world. The issue is complex and demands broad collaboration where different sectors work on different fronts simultaneously.

The chapters of the report provides a background to the broad spectrum of topics that will be discussed in smaller groups behind closed doors. These workshops constitute an essential part of the meeting.

What can we expect if the much-debated sugar tax is implemented, and what other policies should be implemented in conjunction? What role does migration play in the development of overweight and obesity? How can labelling be used to educate consumers? Is there a business model that allow industry to reduce sugar in their products without losing profit? What does schools need to be the allies we would like them to be in tackling obesity? Can we create “zones” where all stakeholders work together to make a difference locally?

Journalists are welcome to take part in the plenum sessions on both days of the summit, as well as the panel discussion and concluding remarks.

The pre-conference report can be ordered from info@uppsalahealthsummit.se or downloaded from the Uppsala Health Summit website.

For the full programme and further information, click here.

Uppsala Health Summit is hosted by Uppsala University in collaboration with the following partners: Swedish University for the Agricultural Sciences, Medical Products Agency – Sweden, World Class Uppsala,Uppsala County Council, Uppsala Municipality, National Veterinary Institute, National Food Agency, Sweden

For press accreditation or questions, please contact Senior Press Officer Anneli Waara, +46 70 425 0718, anneli.waara@uadm.uu.se

For further information on the programme, please contact project leader Madeleine Neil, mobil: +46 70 425 08 91, madeleine.neil@uadm.uu.se