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Liver disease: unravelling the interacting risk factors
Obesity is increasing across Europe and, together with alcohol consumption, is contributing to rising rates of chronic liver diseases, and related conditions [1,2,3]; alcoholic liver disease will shortly overtake ischaemic heart disease in the number of years of working life lost (3). Quantifying the epidemiological and economic burden of obesity and alcohol-related conditions is essential […]
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A sweet alignment: Microsimulation and the soft drinks levy
In the weeks before his election Boris Johnson called for a review and potential roll back of ‘sin taxes’ which bemused experts, including the public health community. He stated that “once we leave the EU on 31 October, we will have a historic opportunity to change the way politics is done in this country. A […]
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Microsimulation modelling for policy change
How do you answer questions about the health of the population? How do you test ideas for policy and intervention change when the option for an experiment or randomized control trial does not exist? High level, national public health policies can have a significant impact on shaping and creating the environments – physical, food, healthcare, […]
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Unpicking the headlines: Cancer, obesity and Boris
Two news stories dominated the headlines this week – Cancer Research UK (CRUK) rolling out a new campaign linked with their findings that obesity is now the leading risk factor for four cancers and Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson calling for a review and potential roll-back of ‘sin taxes’, in particular those measures designed to alter consumer food environments.