Conference

Conference Nutrition Disparity Network: Values and Nutrition Equity

Organised by Strategic Communication
Date

Fri 8 October 2021 10:00 to 12:00

The Conference will be held online via Microsoft Teams. Once you have registered, you will receive the invitation for Microsoft Teams.

Purpose

To encourage critical reflection on the values, beliefs, and goals underpinning efforts to promote healthy eating and reduce nutrition inequities.

Program

10.00-10.05: Opening by moderator Annemarie Wagemakers (WUR)

10.05-10.50: Keynote Prof.dr. Karin Stronks (Amsterdam UMC)
Social norms and values, and the persistence of health inequalities

Although improvements have been made in public health, socioeconomic inequalities in health still persist. In this presentation, I will explore how social norms and values  - in society at large, among policymakers and politicians, and among the target population - impact on the persistence of health inequalities. The premise of my contribution is that addressing these norms and values is imperative to tackle these inequalities.

10.30-10.50: dr. Christina Gillies (WUR)
V
alue alignment and conflict in healthy eating strategies

In recent decades, there has been increased recognition of the need to identify the values informing health promotion and shaping society-at-large to better respond to complex health issues. In this presentation, I discuss how these values may overlap and/or conflict in efforts to improve healthy eating in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Critical reflection on the taken-for-granted values of researchers, professionals, and policymakers is needed in the pursuit of better nutrition and health for all people.

10.50-11.00: Questions/discussion

11.05-11.50: Concurrent workshops

Workshop 1: Is empowerment the way to go? Reducing nutrition inequity in pregnant women within the Netherlands
Moderators: Susanne Cremers and Renske van Lonkhuijzen (WUR)

In this workshop, we discuss the topic of empowerment and its uses. We do this by first presenting the Power 4 a healthy Pregnancy project, where empowerment is used to improve the diet quality of pregnant women. Aside from this, we encourage you to think about how empowerment could play a role in diminishing nutrition inequity.

Workshop 2: Values underlying nutrition sciences: the biomedical approach vs. the anti-diet movement

Moderators: Kristel Polhuis (WUR) and dr. Lenneke Vaandrager (WUR)

Recently, there has been an increase in criticism on biomedical approaches for healthy eating which has also inspired ‘anti-diet’ movements. In this interactive workshop, the values, beliefs, and goals that underpin the biomedical thinking as well as alternative paradigms to guide research to promote healthy eating practices are discussed and reflected upon.

Workshop 3: Healthy eating beliefs among populations with a low socioeconomic position
Moderators: Amy van der Heijden and dr. Gerry Jager (WUR)

During this workshop, we will discuss healthy eating beliefs among populations with a low SEP and reflect on discrepancies with beliefs among populations with higher SEPs. We will also reflect on implications for practice and future research in this field, inviting workshop participants to critically think along with us.

11.50-12.00: Conference end

Moderator

Annemarie Wagemakers.jpg

Annemarie Wagemakers (PhD) is Associate Professor of Health & Society, Wageningen University & Research. Her research focuses on the combined influence of lifestyle and the social and physical environment of health and well-being in real-life settings. Her work utilizes mixed methods design, strong stakeholder participation including low SES groups, and interdisciplinary approaches.

Speakers

Karien Stronks.jpg

Karien Stronks (PhD) is Professor of Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, location Academic Medical Center. With a background in health care, political sciences, and epidemiology, her research focuses on generating evidence on how the position of an individual in society impacts health and understanding why health inequalities arise. In her work, she uses a wide range of study designs to map the mechanisms underlying health inequalities and emphasizes multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaborations to ensure that her work is used to effectively combat inequalities in health and quality of life.

Christina Gillies.jpg

Christina Gillies (PhD) is Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University & Research. Her research focuses on understanding the social determinants of health and developing and evaluating strategies to improve health among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. She is committed to using participatory approaches to research and health promotion.

Registration form

Register online for the event.

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