The National Obesity Forum Best Practice Awards for Excellence in Weight Management was once again one of the highlights of the 2006 conference.

These awards are an opportunity for the NOF to recognise the very hard work that goes on at local level to support individuals effectively in their journey to lose weight. It also gives a platform to these projects so that others may learn from their experiences and ultimately to disseminate good practice across the UK.

One of the purposes of the NOF conference is to communicate the findings from both UK and international based research projects to a wider audience of health care professionals. Our awards are in recognition of those professionals who have taken this evidence, translated the key factors and implemented them at a local level. In essence it is the end of the process that begins with the research and ends with the practical application of the findings, therefore benefiting the population as a whole.

This year we decided to invite the projects who were successful in last years awards to inform the conference of their progress and the difference winning the award made. This update of previous winners was excellent and both the professionals and clients from the SHINE project in Sheffield and the Health Promotion Service and College Road Surgery gave a wonderful and motivating account of continued successes.

In 2006 we made some changes to our categories to include:

•       Primary Care
•       Childhood and adolescents 
•       Workplace
•       Community

As you would expect we had a large number of entries for each category and the number and quality of these years’ entries was extremely high. We would like to thank each and every project that took the time to document their project and submit an entry.

Each project was judged against the following criteria:

•         A commitment to team work
•         The impact of weight management on obesity-related co-morbidities
•         Effective use of available resources
•         Following NOF or national guidelines/pathways where appropriate
•         Innovation
•         Project rationale and SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Timely)
•         Realistic audit and evaluation measures
•         Project costs
•         Evidence of user involvement in development and clear patient gains
•         Use of multi disciplinary/interagency collaboration
•         Reflective of local and or national public health targets
•         Evidence of transferability and dissemination of learning

This years category winners were.

1. Primary Care - Dr Susan Boyle - Glasgow Weight Management 

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2. Workplace - Dr Lisa Birrell - Rolls-Royce 

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3. Community - Dr Shirine Boardman - The Apnee Sehat Project  

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4. Childhood and adolescents - Helen Pittson - Y W8? Project 

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All of the above projects not only used the current evidence of effectiveness (energy reduction and physical activity combined with a behavioural approach) in supporting weight management success, but targeted those interventions to particular target groups who had complex additional barriers to overcome in their journey to losing weight.

The overall winner of the National Obesity Forum Best Practice Awards for Excellence in Weight Management was Helen Pittson - Y W8? Project. This project demonstrated the importance of working with families to help young people lose weight. Their project provided comprehensive support from a dedicated multi-disciplinary team, education using excellent resources but most of all provided an element of fun and enjoyment for those taking part. Our congratulations go to all members of Helens’ team.