RCSI School of Physiotherapy: Obesity Research and Care Group

Following two years of virtual only events, the 29^th European Congress on Obesity (ECO) was a blended event with both online and attendance in person options in Maastricht, The Netherlands.  The 4-day hybrid event was hosted by The European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) in conjunction with the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO). The ECO provides a platform for individuals working in the field of obesity and those affected by obesity to convene, share insight, learn together and establish stronger relations across communities, organisations and countries worldwide.

Members of the RCSI Obesity Research and Care Group actively participated throughout the congress presenting the most recent developments in their work and chairing relevant sessions. Principal Investigator Dr. Grace O’Malley and Researcher Niamh Arthurs participated in policy workshops at ECO, contributing to insight and discussion on national plans for obesity and implementation from policy to practice.

Niamh Arthurs presented on behalf of the RCSI Group’s Sláintecare childhood obesity project in a guided poster presentation, that detailed the process involved in developing the online free and CPD accredited childhood obesity training programme for health professionals in Ireland.

Dr. Louise Tully, Post-doctoral Researcher in the RCSI Obesity Research and Care Group delivered an oral presentation on findings from an HRB-sponsored APA project addressing capacity building for childhood obesity management in the Irish health system. She outlined results of a systematic review on clinical practice guidelines for treating child and adolescent obesity. We were very proud of Dr. Tully who won the ‘The EASO Best Thesis Award 2022’ in a highly competitive process (More about award). Following presentations from the top three scoring theses, Dr. Tully achieved this prestigious award from the EASO Early Career Network (More about network) for her RCSI StAR-funded Ph.D. on the use of digital healthcare for children with obesity. The use of digital healthcare and telemedicine is a topic of importance to health systems globally, particularly since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Tully specifically investigated user perspectives on barriers and facilitators for implementing paediatric telehealth, the role of mobile health (mHealth) in paediatric obesity management, healthcare utilisation costs for children with obesity and a cost analysis of delivering mHealth interventions compared to face-to-face care.

Dr. Maeve O’Brien Post-doctoral Researcher from the RCSI Obesity Research and Care Group presented details on the development of a communication toolkit for primary care health professionals working in childhood obesity management. This project is funded by EASO and is a collaboration with the RCSI SIM Centre for Simulation, Education and Research.

All of the conference presentations are published and represent ongoing work from the Group and other collaborators including public patient representatives.

Involving the lived experience was a pivotal feature of each day of the congress. The importance of people-first language was emphasised by delegates choosing to wear a green ribbon stating ‘I’m People First’ on their congress lanyard. In addition, the blinded abstract review process screened for the use of people-first language by submitting authors. Public-patient representatives were welcomed and actively involved in the congress as equal partners including the chairing of sessions, presenting, co-authors on posters and abstracts and as a powerful reminder that obesity affects real life and people.

ECO2022 closed with the announcement that the 30^th European Congress on Obesity will be in Dublin from May 17^th-20^th 2023, Chaired by Dr. Grace O’Malley from RCSI Physiotherapy. Plans and preparations are already in place and after winning this bid as the host country, The Association for the Study of Obesity on the Island of Ireland (ASOI) will ensure ‘céad míle fáilte’ (a hundred thousand welcomes) to all who attend ECO2023.