If you’re a follower of the weekly rotating public health Twitter account, @WePublicHealth, you probably caught the excellent Twitter reportage from Professor Bill Bellew, who attended the 7th International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress in London a few weeks ago.
A selection of Bellew’s tweets are archived here (see week of Oct 15), with a smaller sample to whet your appetite below.
Croakey published a report from Public Health England’s Dr Justin Varney after the event, outlining a variety of new initiatives presented at the conference, to embed physical activity in society and in medicine, including for groups with special needs, such as disabilities.
Bellow, Bill Bellew reflects further on the highlights of the Congress.
Bellew, an Adjunct Professor of Public Health and executive officer of the Prevention Research collaboration at the University of Sydney, was one of the Australian experts to assist in the development of the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity, and an associated technical package, ACTIVE, which was launched at the event.
And as Australia prepares to develop a new national obesity strategy, the timing of the wealth of information flowing from the ISPAH Congress couldn’t be better.
Bill Bellew writes:
My colleague from Public Health England, Dr Justin Varney, has already done a fabulous blog on the 2018 International Congress on Physical Activity and Health. which is essential reading before you check my brief additions below.
My conference headlines:
GAPPA ACTIVE Toolkit Launched
WHO reinforced the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) with the launch of ACTIVE – the new Technical Toolkit for GAPPA. Check out the short video clip here.
The first products, to be released soon, are expected to be the toolkits on Schools, Healthcare and Social Marketing.
ISPAH2018 Keynote speakers impress
Conference keynotes lived up to the high expectations that come with the ISPAH brand.
Day one showcased the achievements and future directions of physical activity in England, with speakers from Public Health England and Sport England.
In keeping with the theme of Dr Justin Varney’s visit to Australia in 2017, England really is showing the rest of the world how comprehensive policy can be developed and implemented to get a nation moving.
On Day two, Professor Ross Brownson from the Institute for Public Health at Washington University discussed the need for scaling up our interventions and programs, while UK social epidemiologist, Professor Richard Wilkinson, gave a tour de force presentation on the science of inequality.
The day three Keynote was in the form of a highly interactive panel debate on Physical Activity Guidelines (PAGs), ably facilitated by the Chair of the UK Chief Medical Officer’s Expert Committee for Physical Activity, Dr Charlie Foster.
The debate brought out many points, not the least of which was the distinction between (a) the publication of PAGs and (b) their communication to members of the community in meaningful ways.
The two can incorrectly be seen as the same task whilst the latter task of dissemination and communication requires a substantial effort over months and years, which can be greatly underestimated by agencies.
Australians in the limelight at ISPAH 2018
My third and final headline serves to highlight the strong and influential presence of Australian researchers at the London Conference.
One very gratifying example of this was the success of Dr Lindsey Reece from the University of Sydney who took out the prize for the Best Oral Presentation by an Early Career Researcher for her presentation on Australian policy approaches to physical activity. Well done Lindsey!
On Twitter:
Dr Bill Bellew is an Adjunct Professor of Public Health, and executive officer of the Prevention Research collaboration at the University of Sydney.
