The challenges we face in health and care in the North East and North Cumbria are immense. One of the most significant of these issues is the rising level of people living with obesity. Currently, nearly a third of our children are living with living with overweight or obesity before they reach the age of 15. This poses a risk to the future of our communities, particularly in terms of physical, mental, and social health.
LOC in the Lakes was held on 7 November at Carlisle Racecourse, with a focus on tackling obesity in our region. It is the ninth time we and Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria (HI NENC) have organised the event.
Over 200 colleagues and citizens from across health and care joined the conference to explore, ‘what is the difference that will make the difference this time?’. We know that the answer isn’t as simple as diet and exercise. We need to:
Only then will we be able to revolutionise health and wellbeing for all.
It was fantastic to see so many people from a range of organisations come together to share innovations, create fresh ideas for change, and continue the real work that will help make the difference. Take a look at some of the highlights from the event in the video below:
We were delighted to be joined on the day by some local leaders and subject experts in obesity and weight management:
Introduction
We were welcomed to LOC in the Lakes 2024 by:
Click here to download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation…
Professor Nicola Heslehurst
Nicola Heslehurst is a Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition at Newcastle University. In this insightful keynote, she gave us an overview of the evidence base on maternal weight, pregnancy outcomes, and life course health for mothers and their children. We also explored the health inequalities driving maternal obesity, and the importance of embedding a supportive approach that addresses weight stigma.
Click here to download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation…
Healthier Weight and Treating Obesity Team (North East and North Cumbria ICS)
We heard from:
The team presented the North East and North Cumbria approach along with current data. They explored the scale of the challenge, and how we can collectively make a difference.
Click here to download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation…
Dr Tessa Fulton and Helen James
Tessa (Policy Manager, National Voices) presented what we have heard from people’s experience of weight stigma, the impact on their wider healthcare, and what these individuals need and want.
Helen (Founder CEO, Nutriri) shared her personal journey navigating weight stigma and how these experiences inspired her to found Nutriri, an organisation focused on weight-inclusive, stigma-free support.
Click here to download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation…
You might also be interested in reading a Nutriri case study…
Our amazing workshop leads inspired delegates on the day with presentations about their work and experiences:
The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) recognises the challenge of meeting the needs of our population living with overweight and obesity.
LOC in the Lakes 2024 was a chance to bring together stakeholders from across the system, with the challenge of innovation and improvement to tackle this issue.
The 7 ideas for action, generated from the 12 workshops, aligned perfectly with the North East and North Cumbria Healthy Weight and Treating Obesity Strategy themes, as well as the work overseen by the Healthy Weight and Treating Obesity workstream.
The Healthy Weight and Treating Obesity workstream will engage alongside the key stakeholders from each of the ideas, supporting the development into action, and ultimately facilitating the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of obesity. This work will take place over the coming months, and we will provide updates.
Over the coming weeks, Boost will develop and host a Community of Practice linked to this work.
Utilising the innovation pathway
Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria (HI NENC) would utilise the below framework to guide and support teams / individuals developing the innovations / improvement ideas that were developed from the LOC in the Lakes event.
If you were one of the delegates who joined us on the day, we hope you enjoyed it and found it valuable to you in your work. Feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive, with the thought-provoking speakers and workshops inspiring and motivating attendees to continue working, innovating, and improving in order to tackle obesity in our region.
Keep it going! Many of you shared your ‘pledges’, describing the actions you were going to take away from the day. We would love to hear about any improvements you have already made (please keep sending us updates), and/or if you have any ideas or would like to be involved in keeping the momentum going.
As always, we would really value your feedback or suggestions to help us make our future events even better! Please send us any comments you have to: [email protected]
Thank you again to everyone who played a part in LOC in the Lakes 9!
