A Cancer Research Week Hui co-hosted by Cancer Society Auckland Northland and Hāpai te Hauora.

This hui features renowned international and national experts who explore the complex nature of childhood obesity. They will examine how disproportionately affects high needs populations; the obesogenic environment; and effective strategies to combat this growing public health challenge.

It is brought to you as part of Cancer Research Week, which in 2018 is focused on cancer prevention.

Cancer affects more than a million New Zealanders and is the single largest cause of death in Aotearoa, New Zealand. And yet more than 30% cancer cases are preventable.

Obesity is one of the key preventable risk factors for cancer, along with smoking and alcohol. It is directly linked with 11 different types of cancer as well as other diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. In fact, obesity is set to overtake smoking as the leading risk factor for cancer.

However, there are effective prevention strategies available to reduce the prevalence of obesity and the harm it causes.

At this half-day hui, you will hear from:

• Professor Anna Peeters, an international obesity expert, who will explore effective strategies to address obesity and inequities.
• Kaupapa Māori approaches (speaker to be confirmed).

• Healthy Auckland Together (HAT) on a collaborative approach to address obesity.
• Professor Louise Signal on marketing: New Zealand children exposing their obesogenic world.
• Dr Gerhard Sundborn on the impact of sugary drinks on Māori and Pacific communities.
• Professor Boyd Swinburn on obesogenic environments and priorities to reduce obesity and inequities.
• A facilitated discussion on priorities for policy change and action to reduce obesity and inequities.

This hui is free to attend and lunch is provided. Places are strictly limited to 60 attendees. Please register to secure your place. Click the green register button at the top of this page to complete the form.

For more information please contact the Cancer Society Auckland Northland on smokefree@akcansoc.org.nz

About the Speakers:

Professor Anna Peeters

Anna Peeters is Professor of Epidemiology and Equity in Public Health and Head of Obesity and Population Health at the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University, Melbourne.

She is a public health researcher, particularly interested in the provision of information to facilitate objective and equitable choices in public health by policy makers, practitioners and the public.

Professor Peeters is also on the council of the Australia New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS, President 2011-14, Chair ASM 2015), and on advisory boards and steering committees for the Parent’s Jury, the Victorian government’s Equity Focused Health Impact Assessment advisory group and the WorkHealth advisory group. She is also on the World Cancer Research Fund’s Policy Advisory Group.

In 2014, Professor Peeters was awarded the prestigious World Obesity Federation Andre Mayer Award, as well as a Churchill Award.

Professor Boyd Swinburn

Boyd Swinburn is a Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland. He is also an Alfred Deakin Professor and Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University in Melbourne.

He is Co-Chair of the World Obesity/Policy & Prevention (formerly known as IOTF) and was President of the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) from 2005-7.

Professor Swinburn has contributed to more than 30 WHO consultations and reports on obesity; authored more than 300 publications; and given more than 400 presentations.

His major research interests are centred on community and policy actions to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity, and reduce the ‘obesogenic’ food environment.

Healthy Auckland Together (HAT)

Healthy Auckland Together is a coalition of 26 organisations representing local government, mana whenua, health agencies, NGOs, university and consumer interest groups.

HAT works to change policy, infrastructure design and planning, so that environments can encourage physical activity and good nutrition.

HAT believes many of the drivers of obesity, inactivity and ill health exist outside the health sector, and changing these environments can be more effective than asking individuals change behaviour.

Speaker to be confirmed.

Professor Louise Signal

Louise Signal is a Director of the Health Promotion and Policy Research Unit at the University of Otago, Wellington.

Her research focuses on identifying and addressing environmental determinants of health and has a strong focus on addressing inequities, particularly for Māori, Pacific and low-income communities.

Her work includes obesity prevention; addressing harm from alcohol and gambling; and tackling inequities in cancer treatment.

She is the Principal Investigator on Kids’Cam, a research programme that uses automated cameras to study the world in which children live. Kids’Cam is part of the HRC-funded DIET programme. Currently there are 16 projects underway or completed using the New Zealand data.

Professor Signal is currently leading similar research in Tonga in collaboration with Dr Viliami Puloka and the Tongan Government.

Dr Gerhard Sundborn

Dr Gerhard Sundborn is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Pacific Health, University of Auckland.

He is of Tongan and NZ European heritage and his research interests are in Pacific health, unhealthy weight, type 2 diabetes, and sugary drink consumption.

He is currently carrying out a solutions-focused, intervention study to prevent dental caries, unhealthy weight, and type 2 diabetes in four Auckland high schools.

In 2013, together with colleagues Dr Sundborn founded FIZZ (Fighting Sugar in Soft-drinks) a public health advocacy group that aims to reduce sugary drink consumption to zero by 2025.