Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

The World Health Organization has declared obesity one of the most important health problems facing the world today. Globally, there are 1.5 billion adults and 200 million children living with overweight and obesity. Currently, over 6 million Canadians have overweight and obesity and the prevalence is expected to continue to steadily increase. The purpose of this application is to request funding for the 13th International Congress on Obesity (ICO) - Student and New Professional targeted activities. Objectives: ICO will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia on May 1-4, 2016 and it will provide researchers, trainees, policy makers and health professionals, the opportunity to: a) hear and discuss the latest research on all aspects of obesity; b) learn about new innovative preventive and treatment strategies; c) build global alliances to reduce the prevalence of obesity and its associated burden of diseases; and, d) network with the world's leading obesity specialists. Methods: The Canadian Obesity Network's Student and New Professional Executive Committee (CON-SNPs) have been engaged in the planning and implementation of all SNP knowledge translation and networking activities such as: student travel awards, new investigator award, oral and poster awards, obesity hot topic debates, Petcha Kutcha events, career development workshop, ICO volunteer activities, and ICO social events. These activities will be implemented under the leadership of the Canadian Obesity Network and the World Obesity Federation. We anticipate that this partnered activity will help grow the obesity research and practice communities globally.