Thank you Sarah Redston, for raising the question about prevention versus treatment in relation to how the Novo Nordisk Foundation contributes to tackling the obesity epidemic (Letters, January 10).
As part of our overall ambition of improving people’s health, our main focus has been on identifying the root causes of childhood obesity, so as to be able to provide robust evidence to support effective implementation. So far, no intervention has proved to be effective in real life to prevent weight gain and obesity among children, and it is obvious that there is a need for a better understanding of the complex interaction between genetic make-up, early life exposures and environmental factors.
We have initiated and funded several studies that test, for example, whether parents being overweight is programming their children to become obese; if too little sleep predisposes to weight gain; and a project that examines the effects of healthy school meals with less screen time and more physical activity and optimal sleep.
Moreover, together with the Danish Ministry of Health, we have established “The Centre for Childhood Health” — an independent centre supported by a grant of up to £115mn from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The centre’s main focus is to implement preventive changes to ensure a healthy weight and the better wellbeing of all children in Denmark, and eventually to identify solutions with global validity.
Worth noting is that although the Novo Nordisk Foundation owns about 28 per cent of the shares in the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S, the two organisations are individual entities with separate boards of directors, leadership teams and goals. The foundation’s vision is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet.
Professor Arne Astrup
Senior Vice-President, Obesity and Nutritional Sciences, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
