Update from the Scottish Section

Dr Alexandra Mavroeidi, Scottish Section Secretary

The committee has had a few busy months planning the 2023 Spring Conference, to be held at The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow on 28-29 March 2023

The theme of this meeting is Diet and Health Inequalities, which is a key societal challenge. Socio-economic differences in diet and nutrition contribute to health inequalities; these have been highlighted by the recent COVID pandemic, with disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and people living in the most deprived areas. This problem is complex and has wide-ranging causes, seen worldwide. This conference will consist of presentations from the invited speakers followed by live discussions, and poster presentations. The plenary lectures on ‘Food insecurity in people living with obesity – improving sustainable and healthier food choices in the retail food environment’ and ‘Improving the food system by working in harmony with the UN agencies, national and city governments, NGOs, thinktanks and academia’ will respectively open and close the conference. Three exciting symposia take us from ‘Food insecurity and human health’, to ‘Lived experiences in food poverty’ and conclude the delegation with issues related to ‘Policy implementation’. We look forward to discussing the policies, practice, experiences, and evidence on how to reduce these inequalities across the diet and health spectrum.

On other news, our student members (Catriona Thomson and Matevz Arcon) have submitted an expression of interest for the Nutrition Futures 2023 meeting. Looking ahead the Science Committee has now approved the theme for the 2024 Scottish Section Conference, which will be on the topic of ‘Circadian rhythms in health and disease’. It will be hosted by Professor Alexandra Johnstone and Dr Brendan Gabriel in Aberdeen (26-27 March 2024)

In 2022, we primarily met online but we plan to resume in person meetings in 2023. The committee has been working hard to increase its ambassadors’ membership across Scottish universities, and we are please to announce that we now have representation in most institutions across Scotland. Members are encouraged to engage with Nutrition Society ambassadors within their own university who can provide guidance and advice on all Society activities. Please get in touch with us if wish to find out more about the ambassador role and how you can contribute.

If you are keen to join the Committee or have ideas for future symposia topics get in touch via the Society’s website: http://www.nutritionsociety.org/membership/sections/ scottish-section.