One of the UK’s foremost health experts will offer a provocative and thought-provoking insight into the challenges posed by the obesity epidemic, during the third Haygarth Public Health Lecture for Cheshire at the University of Chester next week.

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, President of the UK Faculty of Public Health, will pose a number of provocative challenges to policy makers during the prestigious lecture, which is a joint venture between the University, the NHS in Cheshire, and the Communities of Cheshire Partnership.

Entitled Shouting for Health: The Art and Science of Health Advocacy, Professor Maryon-Davis will be discussing the challenges of getting health messages across, not only to the public but also to decision makers.

He said: “The lecture will be focusing on obesity, with particular reference to the importance of physical activity, and I will be throwing out a few provocative challenges to policy-makers. It is important to set the right backdrop for your messages to incentivise and induce – it is often said that you’ve got to make the healthy choice the easy choice for people.

“While the lecture will predominantly focus on physical activity, it may also branch out into healthy eating and smoking. The importance of physical activity has really come to the fore, not just in terms of obesity, but also for tackling other health issues, such as high blood pressure.”

The Haygarth Lecture was established to celebrate the long tradition of public health action in Cheshire, and is named in honour of the 18th-century physician, John Haygarth, who practiced Medicine at Chester Infirmary, and has been described as ‘Clinical Investigator – Apostle of Sanitation’.

The Lecture is being held in the Binks Building on the University’s Chester campus at 6pm on Wednesday, November 26. If you would like to attend, please contact Jess Hitchcock, Administrator of the University’s Centre for Public Health Research, on 01244 511740, or email j.hitchcock@chester.ac.uk