December 2016 saw Rachel heading off to Uzbekistan to deliver a comprehensive primary care obesity training course to healthcare leaders there. Uzbekistan has very different obesity demographics to the UK, with low child obesity rates (reflecting the relatively low penetrance of ‘big food’ into traditional Uzbek eating behaviours) but high levels of stroke (a reflection of their high-salt diet stemming from traditional cooking practices) and awareness of a changing disease risk profile due to the increasing uptake of sugar-sweetened beverages due to the ‘big drinks’ companies establishing strong growth in the country.
The ‘cascade training’ model of the course suited the delegates well, who were largely academics, public health staff and university teachers, in charge of shaping their medical training and influencing the shape of their public health agenda.
Motivational interviewing was a completely new concept and the group workshops and case scenarios exploring how to give ‘patient-centred’ behaviour change advice were enthusiastically received.
It was a privilege to take part in such an interactive platform, and to learn more about how the obesity epidemic is running quite a different course in other food cultures. There were stark contrasts between the strong traditions-based food environment in comparison to the economically-driven multi-national basis of our food culture here in the West.
Primary Care Obesity Training 