Our couch potato society is seen as one of the prime causes of the obesity epidemic currently facing the UK. Although everyone agrees that increasing our levels of physical activity is important, there is currently little agreement on what type of exercise is most effective for the treatment or prevention of obesity. This problem will be addressed by a major conference taking place next week in Aberdeen from 23-24 July. Co-hosted by the Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity (ACERO) and The Nutrition Society, over 125 of the UK's top scientists and health practitioners working in this area will converge on the Department of Zoology at the University of Aberdeen hoping to find some new insights into the relationship between exercise and obesity.
"Getting people to increase their levels of physical activity is potentially a lynchpin in the battle against the obesity epidemic. However, as many people will know from personal experience and from watching recent television programmes, their use is neither popular or easy," said Professor John Speakman, who is chair of the co-host organisation (ACERO), which is hosting the conference, and who holds a joint appointment between the University of Aberdeen and the Rowett Research Institute.
"By bringing together some of the world's leading experts on the study of relationships between physical activity and energy balance, including some international keynote speakers from mainland Europe and the USA, we hope to provide a forum to discuss not only some basic science of how physical activity interacts with other components of our energy budgets, but also practical issues of what is most likely to work and what isn't," said Professor Speakman.
For further information please contact Angela Begg, University of Aberdeen 01224 272960 or Sue Bird, Rowett Research Institute, 07711 093417.
