Weight control measures including high profile methods like the Atkins and South Beach diets will be discussed today when some of the world’s dietary experts gather at the University of Aberdeen.
Delegates are attending a day long symposium which has been organised by ACERO – the Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity which is a collaboration of the University of Aberdeen, the city’s Rowett Research Institute, The Robert Gordon University, NHS Grampian and the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen.
A wide range of diets have become more popular over recent years, for example low carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, as well as diets that manipulate our glycaemic index.
However, questions remain over whether these kind of diets are any more successful than simple calorie counting and whether they ever lead to sustained weight reduction. Concerns have also been raised over the health consequences of some diets.
All these issues will be discussed at the “Dietary approaches to weight control” symposium which will be attended by around 100 delegates, including dietary health professionals from across the UK and as far afield as Japan.
Dr Nigel Hoggard, of the Rowett Institute, is the current chairman of ACERO. He said: “We are really pleased to be hosting this meeting on such a topic of key importance. Dieting remains the most popular method to alleviate weight gains and is the primary line of defence in the battle against the obesity epidemic.
“This meeting will summarise the latest thinking on a whole series of issues relating to diets that will be of extreme interest to the broad range of delegates we know will be attending.”
The conference aims to establish the latest thinking on dietary methods and will also help inform those at the sharp end, such as dieticians. The event will include presentations by delegates from across Britain, Europe, America, as well as members of ACERO.
Speakers include Professor Carolyn Summerbell from the University of Teeside who is an expert on dietary approaches in children. Dr Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut who will speak on very low carbohydrate diets and Professor Joe Millward who was the scientist behind the recent “Diet Trials” programmes on the BBC.
Topics of particular interest being addressed at the symposium will include whether certain nutrients, such as protein, aid weight loss; whether there are dietary approaches that are particularly suitable for weight control in children and whether men and women react differently to different diets.
More information on some of the speakers:
Dr Jeff Volek is assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, USA. His work has concerned the role of very low carbohydrate diets – such as the Atkins diet on cardiovascular risk factors. In work published last year he showed that these diets cause significant upper body fat loss and thereby improve markers of metabolic health, particularly in men.
Dr Alex Johnstone is from the Rowett Institute where, for the past 10 years, she has been researching aspects of weight loss and has run over 40 human nutrition studies. Most recent studies have been exploring the mechanisms of action of ‘high-protein, low carbohydrate, ‘Atkins-type’ diets. At the conference, Dr Johnstone will be speaking about some of her earlier work looking at fasting – how effective is it as a regime and its impact on longer-term weight gain.
Professor Carolyn Summerbell is the Assistant Dean for Research in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Teesside. She is a co-author on a number of systematic reviews relating to dietary approaches to the obesity epidemic. Her research interests include the effectiveness of health care interventions in the prevention and treatment of obesity in childhood and in adults. She will be speaking at the ACERO meeting on dietary approaches with children.
Professor Joe Millward is the Head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the University of Surrey. His research interests include dietary amino acid requirements, the roles of dietary fatty acids as disease risk factors, and the management of obesity. He was one of the scientists behind the recent BBC Diet Trials programme.
Professor Iain Broom is one of the founding members of ACERO. He is research Professor at The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and a Consultant in Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolic Medicine at NHS Grampian where he runs the Aberdeen obesity clinic, which is one of the longest established obesity clinics in the UK. Professor Broom is the current Chairman of Counterweight: this programme brings together expertise from obesity management specialists from seven centres throughout the UK. Counterweight has already published data from the largest cross-sectional survey of obesity and its associated diseases ever carried out, and has now entered its interactive phase within selected Primary Care practices.
** The Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity (ACERO) was formed in 1999. Initially involving a group of around 12 academics from four institutions across Aberdeen -The University of Aberdeen, The Rowett Research Institute, the then Grampian Universities Health Trust, The Robert Gordon University and the Macaulay Institute. ACERO has grown over the years to include around 20 academics, within their respective research groups, totalling about 60 staff in total. It was officially recognised as a research unit by the Aberdeen Research Consortium in 2001. Since its inception, ACERO has held nine biannual research symposia. The current symposium is the 10th in the series. Full details of ACERO can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/acero The chairman, which rotates on an annual basis, is currently Dr Nigel Hoggard from the Rowett Institute.