People living with obesity to share first-hand experience with experts

The event will be the first in-person meeting for the Yorkshire Obesity Research Alliance (YORA) and is a celebration of the practice, policy and research across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Leeds Beckett University along with Sheffield Hallam University and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Yorkshire and Humber co-founded YORA four years ago. YORA is aimed at contributing to obesity practice through collaboration and co-production.

Taking place at the Rose Bowl in Leeds Beckett University's city campus, the YORA conference will bring together all relevant stakeholders from policy, practice, research and local communities to share common challenges and discuss solutions to change how we empower individuals and reduce weight stigmas.

The conference will be looking at four main themes:

• Emotional eating
• Children and young people
• Weight management strategies
• Food poverty and insecurity

Most importantly, it centres around the voice of lived experience, which highlights the fundamental importance of patients and public involvement in further research. There will be several talks from people living with obesity who will share their first-hand experiences.

Professor Louisa Ells, professor of obesity in the School of Health and co-director of the Obesity Institute at Leeds Beckett University, said: "It is a privilege to be hosting our first YORA conference here at Leeds Beckett University, where I am excited to share learning from across policy, practice and research, and work together to shape our future work together."

The Obesity Institute in the School of Health at Leeds Beckett University brings together academics from a range of disciplines across the university with policy makers, practitioners, and people living with or at risk of obesity and their families and carers, to coproduce innovative person-centred advances in obesity locally, nationally and internationally.

Nicola Corrigan, health and wellbeing programme manager, office for Health Improvement and Disparities, department of Health and Social Care, said: "In Public Health it is essential to develop evidence-based policy and practice. The Yorkshire Obesity Research Alliance is a place where local and national policy teams and public health practitioners can collaborate with researchers, and people with lived experience of obesity, to better inform future activity to improve health outcomes. This is particularly important when addressing inequalities in health outcomes across Yorkshire and the Humber."

Dr Catherine Homer, associate professor of obesity and public health, said: "We hope that by bringing together people with lived experience of obesity, policy makers, practitioners and academics at this first face to face event in Yorkshire, we can continue on our mission to coproduce applied and impactful obesity research."

Find out more about YORA.