London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Cutting your daily intake of food by just 100 calories - the equivalent of just one biscuit, or a three fewer bites of a fast food hamburger - will stop you gaining weight and could halt the global epidemic of obesity in its tracks, a leading US nutritionist will advise today.

Professor James Hill, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the University of Colorado's Center for Nutrition will tell delegates attending a seminar at 5 pm tonight, at the Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1, that simple, manageable lifestyle changes which fit easily into people's everyday lives are the only way forward in tackling obesity.

'The obesity epidemic arose with the gradual weight gain of the population', he explains. 'The average American adult gains about 1.8 to 2 1bs of weight a year, which equates to 18-20 pounds over a decade. The first step in addressing the obesity epidemic is stopping this gradual weight gain'.

He continues: 'It only takes a few small lifestyle changes to achieve this. Anyone pursuing an activity which burns 100 calories a day - say a 15 or 20 minute walk - or reducing their daily intake of food by just 100 calories would be able to head off the steady weight gain which is responsible for much of the adult obesity are seeing today.

'We have not been successful in getting people to make and sustain large lifestyle changes, such as going on diets and sticking to them, or joining gyms. But we may achieve greater success by focusing on small, sustainable lifestyle changes which will have a big impact over time. If we can manage this, it will have an enormous impact on the weight and health of populations'.

Professor Hill will talk about the 'America on the Move' scheme, a grassroots programme in the States which is aimed at helping people make small lifestyle changes which will have a big impact on their health and quality of life.

If you would like to interview Professor Hill, either in advance of or at the Seminar, or would like to attend as a press delegate, please contact Lindsay Wright in the School's Press Office on 020 7927 2073

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