I am a Public Health Doctor employed by the NHS. My current placements are with the Public Health Unit for the Greater London Authority and the North London Health Protection Team in the UK Health Security Agency.

I will use my Fellowship to understand approaches to creating healthy food environments to address childhood obesity.

Obesity is set to become the leading cause of preventable death in the UK. The environment in which we live, work and play has a profound impact on us. It is very difficult for individuals to make healthy choices to sustain a healthy weight with the current level or availability and advertising of calorie-rich food. There have already been steps in the UK to address this, for example introducing the sugary drink industry levy.

Mexico is at the forefront of creating healthy food environments, for example by bringing in a national tax on energy-dense food. Some states have gone further and brought in legislation to ban the sale of junk food to children. I look forward to understanding how these ideas have come about and how they have been implemented and received. I will share these ideas with public health networks in the UK.