In the past years, the Canadian Obesity Network has hosted two think tanks on the importance of rehabilitation expertise in the prevention and management of severe obesity. The proceeding of the first bariatric rehabilitation workshop held in Edmonton, Alberta in 2008 was now published in the latest edition of Disability and Rehabilitation.

Participants at this think tank consisted of around 50 health professionals, administrators, researchers and even EMS professionals.

The main goal of this workshop was to identify gaps in research and professional training that need to be addressed in light of the burgeoning number of individuals with severe and extreme obesity in Canada.

According to this paper:

“Gaps in knowledge and research included the need for better understanding of the biopsychosocial causes and consequences of obesity and the role for novel and existing rehabilitation interventions to prevent and treat obesity. Research is needed to explore how existing rehabilitation interventions and technology impacts the patients with obesity, who also have physical and psychological impairments typically treated by rehabilitation practitioners.

Although the need for rehabilitation for persons with obesity is documented in the literature, the capacity in terms of human resources, funding for research and technology and the development of bariatric friendly, accessible environments is limited. Participants of this meeting reinforced the need to develop training programmes in the form of continuing education and the inclusion of topics in bariatrics in discipline specific training programmes.

Additionally, in order for patients, their families and healthcare professionals to have access to obesity prevention and treatment services, models of care and education that reach out to rural and marginalised communities must be used. These currently exist through forms of telehealth, webinars and online courses.”

Clearly a bariatric rehabilitation is a topic that deserves far more emphasis in the training of health professionals and an area where there is an urgent need for rehabilitation research regarding best practices in dealing with this rapidly growing vulnerable population.

A full report on the Canadian Obesity Network’s First Bariatric Rehabilitation Think Tank can be downloaded here.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta

Hat tip to Mary Forhan, first author of this paper, and congratulations on the recent successful defense of her PhD thesis.

Today, I am speaking at the XII Congreso Internacional Avances en Medicina 2010 hosted by the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara (Thank you Juan Ricardo Lopez y Taylor for the kind invitation!).

There is indeed no denying that Mexico, as does everyone else in North America, has a substantial obesity problem.

As recently pointed out by Dudley Althaus, who writes for the Houston Chronicle:

“Though still afflicted by large pockets of the malnourished poor, Mexico is fat and quickly getting fatter, its children gaining weight faster than anyone else in the country.

About 70 percent of Mexican adults are now overweight, according to government estimates, more than triple the number of three decades ago. Also, about a third of the country’s schoolchildren and teenagers are overweight, making Mexicans the second-heaviest people on the planet, gaining quickly on their American neighbors.

With more people living in urban areas, and some with more money, Mexicans are eating more and exercising less. Forgoing the beans, tortillas, fruit and vegetables their grandparents ate, people flock to U.S.-style fast food.

Also, calorie-laden Mexican dishes once reserved for special occasions have become routine fare. Anything fried, packaged pastries, soft drinks and candy are widely available.”

Not surprisingly, last month, Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a national campaign against obesity (beating the US Obama initiative by a few weeks) and called on parents, teachers and the food industry to guide people to more healthful living.

Whether or not this appeal will indeed have any noticeable impact on the obesity epidemic remains to be seen.  From my conversations with fellow delegates, at least the interest and concerns amongst health professionals seems considerable - but so does their sense of helplessness.

To read more by Dudley Althaus on the obesity problem in Mexico click here.

AMS
Guadalajara, Mexico

The Honorable Stanislaw Tillich and Arya M. Sharma

Last November, I blogged about my visit to the University of Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, where I visited my good friend Matthias Blüher, who made a name for himself with his prolific research on adipose tissue biology.

The university of Leipzig is the likely recipient of a major multi-million Euro grant for an obesity research and treatment centre and has kindly invited me to sit on their International Scientific Advisory Committee.

So imagine my delight when yesterday, the University of Alberta signed a partnership agreement with Saxony on scientific collaboration and exchange. At the reception for this event, I personally conveyed my appreciation to the Honorable Stanislaw Tillich, Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, regarding the fact that the University of Leipzig was going to take such a major place in obesity research and management in Germany.

Indeed, given the tremendous expertise here at the University of Alberta in obesity and related disorders, I very much hope that the new agreement will provide a solid framework for faculty and student exchanges as well as extensive collaborative research initiatives with the University of Leipzig.

I very much look forward to the future interactions with my German colleagues on this important area of research and patient care.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta

Hat Tip to Arnim Joop for the photograph

Today, I am attending a Leaders Summit in Montreal hosted by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI).

The Summit brings together a number of senior representatives of Canada’s food manufacturing and retailing leaders as well as researchers and decision makers from various provincial and federal governments.

Last night, at the opening dinner, I had the pleasure of listening to David Katz, Director and Co-Founder of the Yale Prevention Research Center, who talked about the The NuVal System for food labelling, designed to make it easier to identify and compare foods based on their nutritional valure.

The system was developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts and rates the nutritional value of foods on a scale from 1 to 100. The higher the NuVal Score, the better the nutrition. It literally allows you to compare the nutritional value of apples and oranges.

In other words, NuVal is a GPS that directs us to healthier foods.

A number of food retailers in the US are now using the NuVal system and its users and fans are apparently growing.

For more information on how the NuVal system works and what it can do feel free to visit the NuVal website.

Wonder if and when we’ll see food with NuVal scores in Canadian supermarkets.

AMS
Montreal, Quebec

Later today, Michelle Obama will step in front of the press in Washington to launch her initiative on addressing the childhood obesity epidemic in the US.

I am certain that she has no illusions as to the size of this challenge (no pun intended).

I will not go into details about the planned campaign or the considerable obstacles that she will need to overcome (for a thoughtful discussion of this go to the Canadian Press article by Nancy Benac).

Rather I’d like to turn my gaze to Canada and dare to ask the question: Where is the prominent Canadian public figure that is prepared to stand up and head a Canadian strategy to match Obama’s efforts?

If the US has an obesity problem, so do we!

If the US is now going to seriously take on this issue, so must we!

As Director of the Canadian Obesity Network, I can assure anyone willing to step forward that the Network with its over 4000 members and partners stands prepared to take up the challenge.

Any prominent Canadian public figure wishing to follow in Obama’s footsteps is welcome to simply step forward and drop me a line.

In the meantime, I will be carefully watching to see if the US initiative actually has enough support and teeth to really take on the countless interest groups and stakeholders that are perfectly happy with leaving things just the way they are.

Send me your comments on why you think so far no Canadian public figure has stepped forward to spearhead a campaign to address our own obesity epidemic and whether or not you think this would really make a difference.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta