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Leeds Beckett University to tackle obesity in Saint Helena
LBU was commissioned to assist the UK Overseas Territory (UKOT) in the South Atlantic Ocean following a successful bid to the UK Government’s Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID) in the Department for Health and Social Care.
The UKOT’s programme in OHID is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through their Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and delivered in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency.
Led by Dr Duncan Radley, the project team includes Dr Alexandra Potts and Dr George Sanders from the Carnegie School of Sport, and Professor Louisa Ells from the university’s School of Health.
The LBU team will support the St Helena Government and community members to build the technical capacity in systems approaches, tools and methods that can be used to address obesity and other public issues. They will also support them to better understand the local drivers of obesity and to address these more effectively by convening coordinated actions. The final report will be submitted in spring 2022.
Dr Duncan Radley, from the Carnegie School of Sport said: “This is an exciting opportunity to help set up and implement a sustainable whole systems approach to obesity in a new context and share learnings with other UK Overseas Territories and Small Island Developing States. Building on methods and approaches that have been co-developed and tested with local authorities in England, this project will seek to understand the differences of implementing the approach in a small island context, especially in relation to food availability, local culture and sustainable economic development.”
St Helena is a volcanic sub-tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. It is part of the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha and measures about 10 by 5 miles. According to the 2021 census it has a population of 4,439.
Among St Helena residents (Saints) in 2018, one in five people are diabetic and more than half of the adults have high blood pressure. Almost seven in 10 people are overweight or obese, including 42% of schoolchildren.
Michele Wheeler, Portfolio Director for Health and Social Care from St Helena Government said: “We are delighted to have the support and guidance from LBU and OHID as we develop and implement a whole systems approach to obesity on St Helena. The experience and expertise LBU have in developing the approach will enhance our understanding of the process and our local context.”
Leeds Beckett University has been involved in obesity research for over 20 years. In 2019 Public Health England commissioned the university to produce a guide and supporting resources to enable any local authority to produce a local whole systems approach to obesity.