ASO Webinar: Banning the advertisement of junk food: What does this mean for society, and what happens next?

Dr Julia Mueller is the Regional Co-Lead of ASO East of England. She is a postdoctoral Research Associate at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, within the programme on Prevention of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders in High Risk Groups. She currently leads the quantitative analysis on an NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research on developing and evaluating scalable behavioural weight management programmes for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. Julia completed a Bsc in Psychology and an MSc in Health Psychology before completing her PhD in 2018 at the University of Manchester. Her research interests focus on using technology and digital solutions for health benefit and she has co-authored a book on “Developing Medical Apps and mHealth Interventions” (Springer).

Ms Rebecca Jones is the Regional Co-Lead of ASO East of England. She is a final year PhD student in the ‘Prevention of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders in High Risk Groups’ programme at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. Prior to commencing her doctoral studies, Rebecca worked in tier 2 weight management services for many years and developed a strong interest in the relationship between weight management and mental wellbeing. Rebecca’s thesis aims to determine the role of mental health in behavioural weight management interventions. She is leading and co-authoring multiple systematic reviews and empirical papers in this field, and is a co-investigator in the development of two scalable, acceptance-based interventions for weight management. Rebecca’s profile can be viewed here: https://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/people/rebecca-jones/

Dr Carly Anna Hughes is a GP and a trained bariatric physician working in the Fakenham weight management service (FWMS). She was a member of the NICE CG 189 Obesity guidance group. She set up FWMS which was awarded the National Obesity Forum Best Practice award and the Association for the Study of Obesity Best Practice award. She was a co-founded of the Norfolk Obesity Network. She is an honorary lecturer at the University of East Anglia Medical School, and a researcher with the MRC epidemiology unit at Cambridge. She has published over 20 articles, and lectures nationally and internationally on Obesity related topics. She is a World Obesity Federation SCOPE National Fellow.

Emma Boyland is a psychologist and senior lecturer based at the University of Liverpool, where she is lead of the Appetite and Obesity Research group. Emma has over 15 years of experience in eating behaviour research. Her work principally focuses on the food environment, characterising the foods and beverages available and the way they are marketed via traditional and digital means, as well as seeking to understand how this impacts eating behaviours (choice and intake) and determinants of eating behaviour (beliefs, attitudes, preferences), particularly in children. She has received research funding to her institution from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Australian Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Public Health England, and the Wellcome Trust. Emma has published over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, 8 book chapters and three WHO Europe reports on food marketing. She has recently completed two WHO commissioned reviews on the impact of food marketing on eating behaviour and health and the effectiveness of food marketing policies to inform international WHO guidelines. She sits on the WHO Global Steering Committee for digital food marketing and is an expert advisor to both WHO Europe and Unicef, leading food marketing monitoring studies across Europe, Latin America, and the East Asia-Pacific region. She is a member of the leadership group for the International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) food promotion module. Dr Boyland has twice been invited to give oral evidence to the UK Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee inquiries into childhood obesity that directly inform the Childhood Obesity Plan for the UK.

Hannah Forde is a Research Associate at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at the University of Cambridge. She is interested in researching ways to regulate the commercial food system to improve human and planetary health. Hannah is currently conducting qualitative research to prepare for new UK restrictions on TV food advertising and online food marketing. Prior to this, she completed her PhD research at CEDAR with the support of funding from Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership. Her research examined changes in soft drinks marketing in response to the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy, a landmark policy in the UK Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan. Hannah holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of St Andrews, and a Master’s degree in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health from the University of Bristol. She has previously worked in market and social research in both London and Edinburgh. During her PhD, she also completed an internship at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, which was funded by the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership