Strategic Council

In 2019 the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity set up a Strategic Council to give advice on how to improve the prevention and treatment of obesity. The council is made up of leading academics, clinicians, policy-makers and patient representatives, to offer advice on how to reverse the UK’s rising obesity rates and to delegate voluntary task and finish groups to take practical steps to reduce obesity.

The council will create a forum to discuss the joining up of obesity prevention and treatment and how to reduce the impact of obesity on the lives of those living in the UK.

Strategic Council 2025/26 Members

Professor James Kingsland OBE, Chair, Digital Clinical Excellence Forum

James is a UK General Practitioner of considerable experience and talent who throughout his career has consistently been elected by his peers into leadership positions, both locally and nationally. He is unique as a practicing clinician, who is also a broadcaster, writer, presenter, speaker and educator.

Shaw Somers, Specialist Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgeon, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Shaw has 25 years of experience in managing patients with complex obesity problems, and extensive experience in setting up NHS services for complex obesity in three NHS Trusts.

Julia Thrift, Director, Healthier Placemaking, Town and Country Planning Association

Julia joined the TCPA in May 2013 and manages projects concerning planning and public health, green infrastructure, and planning and social justice

Professor Birgitta Rabe, Professor of Economics, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex

Birgitta is interested in applied research in education, family and labour economics. She is Co-Investigator of the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-social Change and Topic Champion on Understanding Society.

Professor Gabriella Conti, Professor of Economics, University College London, Research Fellow, Institute for Fiscal Studies

Gabriella’s research draws on both the biomedical and the social sciences with the aim of understanding the developmental origins of health inequalities, and the behavioural and biological pathways through which early life conditions affect well-being throughout the lifecourse.

Dr Adrian Brown, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University College London

Adrian’s expertise focuses on the nutritional and behavioural management of people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. In particular, using formula low energy diets in patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity & other co-morbidities.

Professor Thomas Barber, Professor of Endocrinology and Consultant Endocrinologist

Thomas’ research interests include the impact of human metabolism on development of obesity, and strategies to prevent and manage obesity and Diabetes.

Working Groups

The Strategic Council will split into two working groups to focus on key areas and feed directly into the APPG’s programme:

Weight Management Services Working Group

  • Purpose - Advance equitable, high-quality provision of weight management services across Integrated Care Systems (ICSs).

  • Focus - Promote the ICS Weight Management Services Hub, gather case studies, and advise on improving awareness, access and adoption.

  • Outputs - Thought pieces, case studies, and policy briefings, including input to the forthcoming inquiry on the future of weight management services.

Members of this group are Shaw Somers, Professor James Kingsland OBE, Dr Adrian Brown, and Professor Thomas Barber.

Childhood Obesity Working Group

  • Purpose – Drive policy thinking and collaboration to reduce childhood obesity.

  • Focus – Monitor and influence government initiatives such as the UK Food Strategy and school food standards; prioritise prevention, equity and upstream interventions.

  • Outputs – Evidence-based briefings, consultation responses, and targeted interventions to inform parliamentary debate.

Members of this group are Birgitta Rabe, Gabriella Conti and Julia Thrift.

The inaugural meeting of the Strategic Council was held on Tuesday 23rd July 2019 in the Houses of Parliament, and members have continued to reactivate their membership annually. Members last renewed their membership in October 2024.

Members of the Strategic Council are appointed on an entirely voluntary basis, and do not receive reimbursement for their time.

Contact us: If you have any questions about the Strategic Council and the work it is currently undertaking, please email obesityappg@healthcommsconsulting.co.uk or call 07852266830.

This is not an official website of the House of Commons or House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group.