Winter Conference 2021:Obesity and the brain

Winter Conference 2021 registration is closed.

The increasing prevalence of obesity in the UK and worldwide is one of the greatest public health challenges of our age. Obesity-related chronic diseases can affect all age groups and are a major threat to the ongoing quest for longer healthy life expectancies. Obesity can adversely impact healthy functioning of most systems in the body, but the key to prevention and management lies in the brain. This conference will examine some of the intricacies and latest research findings from neuroscientists and clinicians within the topic of “Obesity and the brain”.

Day one will include talks from neuroscientists from leading research institutions in UK, Europe and the US who will discuss the mechanisms of the impact of obesity on brain structure and function and the role of reward in ingestive behaviour. The question of whether bariatric surgery can lead to improvements in cognitive function will be addressed, and barriers to behaviour change in weight management will be examined.

Day two will take a closer look at some of the neurobiological pathways that mediate the regulation of appetite with highlights from some of the most impactful basic science and clinical research of the past few years. The role of personalised medicine in the prevention and management of obesity will be considered – including the role of sleep hygiene for prevention of obesity in children with habitual sleep deficits and the potential for harnessing the gut microbiome as another tool to maximise adherence to weight management interventions. Finally, the meeting will end considering the complexities of management of binge-eating and mental health.

The conference will have wide appeal to early career and established researchers, healthcare professionals and weight management programme providers spanning preventive medicine, nutrition and dietetics, psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience.

For delegates who have registered to attend the Winter Conference 2021 in person, who may subsequently feel uncomfortable to attend in person due to any changes to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, the Nutrition Society will offer them the opportunity to change their registration and attend the conference online. A refund for the difference in delegate fee paid will be processed after the conference. For online delegates who would like to change their registration and attend in person, the Nutrition Society will also assist you by transferring your registration - please contact the Society’s Events Officer via email to discuss any concerns or questions about these options.

Group booking grant

If you are a Nutrition Society member and have registered a group booking for the Winter Conference 2021 online, you can apply for a grant to support a group meeting. Click here for further infomation.