Month: March 2021

An online event will be held on April 14^th at 15:00 CET (14:00 GMT) to address the myths and misinformation that surround the use of Total Diet Replacements (TDR). Organized by TDMR Europe, the webinar entitled: Proven Facts versus Popular Myths about weight loss with Total Diet Replacement (TDR), will enable stakeholders in both the public policy and healthcare sectors to gain a better understanding of TDR. Speakers will be Professor Anthony Leeds (TDMR Europe Chair), Dr George Thom (University of Glasgow), Dr Kelly Johnston (King’s College London) and Mark Gilbert (TDMR Europe Science Committee). This webinar aims to debunk popular myths about TDR weight loss as well as present the potential benefits of using TDR for weight loss, including cost-effectiveness.

Please follow this link to register.

The increasing prevalence of obesity, overweight and type 2 diabetes in Europe, which also increase the risk of adverse outcomes in COVID-19 infection, could soon overwhelm the capacity for healthcare provision. This webinar will present evidence that TDR programmes offer an effective solution to the increasing challenge of managing obesity and overweight in Europe.

Professor Anthony Leeds, Chairman of TDMR Europe, said: “We aim to give stakeholders in the public policy and healthcare sectors a better understanding of Total Diet Replacement as a cost-effective way to help improve the health of Europeans. Today Europe struggles with increasing obesity rates and overweight levels as well as with related health issues, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis, which cause ill-health and pose a serious challenge to European economies and productivity. There is an urgent need to raise awareness of the significant contribution that TDR can bring to European efforts to address the public health problem of obesity and overweight. This seminar will break-down the barriers to successful use of TDR by presenting scientific evidence that busts the myths.”

The webinar will specifically address myths that slow the acceptance of TDR as an effective solution in the European strategy to tackle obesity and overweight. The presentations will show that:

• Rapid weight loss does not lead to excessive lean body mass loss and, with careful maintenance, does not lead to rapid weight regain;
• After rapid weight loss it is not as difficult to maintain a new lower body weight as is commonly believed;
• Weight loss with TDR can be sustained;
• People who start a TDR can use it for long enough to lose meaningful amounts of weight;
• TDR diets are not dangerous, rarely cause gout and gallstones and very rarely cause other potentially serious problems.

The event is addressed to policy makers, journalists and professionals in the public health sector in Europe. Please follow this link to register and join the debate on the relevance and role of TDR in bringing down the incidence of obesity and overweight.

Programme 

Proven Facts versus Popular Myth about weight loss with Total Diet Replacement (TDR)

14^th April, 15:00 -16:30 CET

Total Diet Replacements – update on latest clinical trial evidence (15 minutes)

Professor Anthony Leeds, Chairman of TDMR Europe, Frederiksberg Hospital, University of Copenhagen

Physiological and behavioural factors involved in weight loss maintenance (20 minutes)

Dr George Thom, University of Glasgow

 Is there any scientific basis for Myths about TDR? (30 minutes)

Dr Kelly Johnston, King’s College London and Mark Gilbert, TDMR Europe Science Committee

 Q & A and concluding summary (20 minutes)

For more information about TDMR Europe or a comment from Professor Anthony Leeds, please contact Aristeidis Myriskos via email: aristeidis.myriskos@whitehouseconsulting.co.uk or call +44(0) 20 3855 5760 / +44 (0)7719883318

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About TDMR Europe

Total Diet and Meal Replacements Europe (TDMR Europe) is the European trade body for manufacturers and distributors of formula diet products, including total diet replacements (TDRs) and meal replacement products (MRPs) which provide weight loss and weight management programmes.

TDMR Europe works to secure appropriate and proportionate European legislation for TDRs and MRPs and is in close continuous dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders such as policymakers and senior officials in the relevant bodies. It also aims to increase awareness and understanding of specialist weight management foods such as TDRs and MRPs and coordinate detailed technical and regulatory expertise of members to develop common industry positions that help to support European public policy and regulatory decisions.

Please find more information in the TDMR Europe 2021 Media Pack

tdmr-europe.com

Twitter: @TDMREurope

LinkedIn: TDMR Europe

As part of World Obesity Day, on 4^th March, a variety of organisations and decision-makers across Europe talked about their increased efforts to tackle obesity.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge centre, launched a dedicated obesity section on its Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway website. The service provides facts and figures as well as policy guidelines on the prevention of obesity and related illnesses. Commenting on the initiative, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, argued that the scientific data gathered by the JRC will significantly contribute to finding the best measures to tackle obesity.

Also this week, a number of prominent MEPs – Marc Tarabella, Alex Agius Saliba and João Ferreira – raised awareness of the increasing prevalence of obesity in Europe in Parliament Magazine. MEP Ferreira stressed that prevention strategies are not enough, and that there is an urgent need to help the millions of people that already struggle with being obese or overweight.

Meanwhile, the UK Government announced new specialised support to help those living with obesity to lose weight. The Government will allocate a £100 million budget to help children, adults and families to achieve and maintain a healthier weight.

The Government of Ireland also announced a concerted approach by the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive and Health Research Board to obesity prevention and care for people living with overweight or obesity. This new way forward includes community-based programmes and health interventions in areas of socio-economic deprivation and enhanced community care resources, including the recruitment of additional dietitians for weight management and chronic disease management across the country. The Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly, stressed that obesity negatively impacts many other conditions, including type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer and COVID-19. The Minister also acknowledged that the solution to obesity is possible only through a more coordinated approach.

All these announcements point to an increased awareness of the need to tackle obesity, and to do so urgently. But this issue has been on the political agenda of Europe for many years now and obesity rates are not only rising but have tripled in many European countries.

The first set of facts and figures published by the JRC on World Obesity Day were shocking, showing that more than half a million deaths each year in the EU can be attributed to a higher than ideal body mass index (BMI) and that 59% of adults were estimated to have pre-obesity and obesity in 2016. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that in the next three decades overweight will claim as many as 92 million lives in the OECD area, and, that the total health expenditure attributed to overweight will correspond to 8.4% of the entire health budget of OECD countries between now and 2050.

The developments on the policy level are certainly positive news. But policy makers across Europe need to take a step forward to actively tackle the obesity challenge; Moving beyond policies that aim to bring superficial behavioural changes among consumers, European governments need to boost cooperation among public policy, the scientific world and the business sector, and look at  options that are already available to support millions of citizens who live with obesity and overweight – as well as related conditions.

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK has set an example, by introducing a programme which provides a formula-based low calorie, total diet replacement programme for overweight and obese people with type-2 diabetes. The rollout of this programme was based on the results of two large studies, namely, DiRECT and DROPLET, which showed the efficacy of total diet replacements in improving diabetes control, reducing medication and, in some cases, putting type-2 diabetes into remission. Total diet replacement (TDR) and meal replacement products (MRP) are safe, effective and cost-effective. They comply with applicable legislation and have a proven track record of helping people lose weight and subsequently maintain their weight loss. Given Europe’s obesity pandemic, it is absolutely essential that health professionals and policy makers gain a better understanding of the relevance, role and application of TDRs and MRPs.

The current research on obesity has shown that, firstly, obesity is a complex issue associated with decreased life expectancy and other serious health issues. Secondly, obesity is a public health problem that affects European society and its economy. And finally, the increasing prevalence of obesity shows that prevention strategies are not enough; rather there is an urgent need for combining the latter with treatment solutions now. This will only be possible through coordinated action, bringing together expertise from the scientific, business and policy sector.