Top Obesity Researchers Honoured at 4th Canadian Obesity Summit

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 29, 2015) - Two of Canada's top health researchers were recognized by the Canadian Obesity Network (CON) today for their innovative efforts in advancing the understanding of obesity prevention and treatment.

Dr. Kim Raine, professor at the Centre for Health Promotion Studies at the University of Alberta and a founding member of CON, received the network's fourth Distinguished Lecturer Award for her investigations into the social and environmental determinants of obesity in Canada. Her contributions to obesity prevention research and practice have made significant impacts at the local, provincial and national levels. In her most recent role as principal investigator in the POWER-UP project (Policy Opportunity Windows: Enhancing Research Uptake in Practice), Dr. Raine is researching the underlying social and economic drivers of unhealthy eating and physical inactivity.

"I'm extremely honoured to receive this award," Dr. Raine said. "Previous recipients are my mentors and have inspired my work. Coming from the field of health promotion, my goal is prevention of obesity and associated chronic diseases. My team's research explores ways to intervene at the population level to make Canada, and society, a place where the healthier choice is the easier choice."

"My team's research has demonstrated that food environments have become increasingly difficult to navigate. Our goals are to level the playing field and empower consumers to resist powerful forces such as marketing and inequitable pricing strategies that make unhealthy food so attractive and readily available. I'm inspired by the promise of social change for reversing the obesity epidemic."

Dr. Jennifer L. Kuk, associate professor at York University's School of Kinesiology & Health Sciences was awarded 2015 TOPS New Investigator Award, which recognizes an individual for a singular achievement or their career contributions to research in the field of obesity. The award is supported through an annual grant from the Take Off Pounds Sensibly Foundation (TOPS). Dr. Kuk's research focuses on the lifestyle management, prevention and population health impact of obesity. In particular, she is interested in the characterization of the metabolically normal but obese phenotype and is currently working on factors that identify successful weight management in adult and pediatric bariatric patients. This work will help to clarify the most optimal weight management strategies for maintaining and improving health.

"I am very pleased to be recognized with the TOPS New Investigator Award, and am indebted to the Canadian Obesity Network for their support during the early years of my research career," Dr. Kuk said. "Obesity is a complex condition which will only be adequately addressed by creative solutions achieved through the united efforts of researchers, health professionals, policy makers, industry and the public, and I look forward to playing a continued role in that work."

Both awards were presented during the opening ceremonies of the 4^th Canadian Obesity Summit, a multidisciplinary scientific conference running April 28-May 2, 2015 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ont.

Since 2006, the Canadian Obesity Network has worked with the research, practice, policy and non-profit communities to acknowledge obesity as a complex chronic disease and build a community of practice around it. The network boasts 11,000 professional members in Canada and from around the world. The 4^th Canadian Obesity Summit is CON's biennial scientific conference and networking event, attracting more than 1,000 delegates, making it one of the largest conferences in the world to focus solely on the chronic disease that affects more than six million Canadians.