Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Developing Medical Nutrition Therapy European Guidelines
Louisa Ells is Professor of Obesity and Tamara Brown is Senior Research Fellow in the Obesity Institute within the School of Health. Through their international collaborations on various obesity research projects, they were invited by Euan Woodward the Executive Director of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), to join the Nutrition Working Group and to help develop Medical Nutrition Therapy European Guidelines.
Tamara used her expertise in review methodology to lead the methods of the adult review.
“Working closely with authors of the Canadian guidelines, Dr Ximena Ramos Salas and Dr Jennifer Brown from Obesity Canada, I was able to use the evidence review underpinning the Canadian guidelines and update it with new data and consider how the evidence could be translated for the European context. Obesity Canada were able to apply this updated evidence to determine if any significant evidence has emerged that would support clinical practice. Two areas were identified as providing updated evidence: i) use of partial meal replacements; and ii) intermittent fasting.”
This was a challenging and high-profile research project working with an international team of experts in Medical Nutrition Therapy and is only one example of the numerous and varied research projects carried out by the Obesity Institute. Aligning with the tenets of the Obesity Institute, Louisa and Tamara worked hard to make sure the guideline recommendations were equitable and person-centred in their contributions to the writing of both the child and adult guidelines.
These two reviews underpin two Position Statements that will lead to change in practice across Europe: https://easo.org/new-position-statements-on-adult-and-childhood-medical-nutrition-therapy/:
• Hassapidou M, Vlassopoulos A, Kalliostra M, Govers E, Mulrooney H, Ells L, Salas XR, Muscogiuri G, Darleska TH, Busetto L, Yumuk VD, Dicker D, Halford J, Woodward E, Douglas P, Brown J, Brown T. European Association for the Study of Obesity Position Statement on Medical Nutrition Therapy for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults Developed in Collaboration with the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians. Obes Facts. 2023;16(1):11-28. doi: 10.1159/000528083. Epub 2022 Dec 15. PMID: 36521448; PMCID: PMC9889729. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36521448/
• Hassapidou M, Duncanson K, Shrewsbury V, Ells L, Mulrooney H, Androutsos O, Vlassopoulos A, Rito A, Farpourt N, Brown T, Douglas P, Ramos Sallas X, Woodward E, Collins C. EASO and EFAD Position Statement on Medical Nutrition Therapy for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents. Obes Facts. 2023;16(1):29-52. doi: 10.1159/000527540. Epub 2022 Nov 8. PMID: 36349767; PMCID: PMC9890183. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36349767/
Image credit - https://ecpomedia.org/image-bank/
Professor Louisa Ells
Louisa is a registered public health nutritionist with a specialist interest in multi-disciplinary, cross-sector applied obesity research. Her research focuses on obesity related public health, service evaluation, inequalities and e-health, delivered using systematic reviewing, mixed method, coproduction and person-centred approaches.
Dr Tamara Brown
Tamara is passionate about translating evidence-based research into practice and enjoys helping practitioners to deliver the best care. She is particularly interested in interventions for behavioural risk factors for non-communicable disease, such as lifestyle interventions for obesity prevention.
