Why physical activity alone will not solve the obesity epidemic: The case for the constrained model fo energy expenditure

Lara Dugas, PhD, MPH, FTOS is the AXA Chair in Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, hosted at the University of Cape Town (2021-2026), and a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Chicago (LUC). She completed her PhD and post-doctoral training at UCT in the Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport Research Centre, focusing on the role of energy balance in the development of obesity. In 2007, she joined LUC where she managed a large international study exploring the effects of diet and physical activity on cardiometabolic health in 5 African-origin populations from Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles and the US. In 2014 she expanded this work to explore the role of the gut microbiota and intermediary metabolites on obesity and diabetes risk. In 2019, she expanded this work to include the role of the sleep behaviour, and circadian rhythm. In 2021 she was awarded the AXA Chair in Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, hosted in the Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, UCT. Initially, her programme focused on the intersection of non-communicable diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes in populations with a high HIV burden, but has since expanded this to include the impact of a heating climate and non-communicable disease risk in vulnerable populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, leveraging her work in South Africa and Ghana.

Our in-person meeting will be in held in Classroom 1 on the third floor of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. For those watching online, we have a zoom link below. The meeting starts at 10:30 am. We will spend the first 10-15 minutes on announcements (grants, publications etc) and research centre business. The webinar starts at 10.45am. For those who are only joining us for the webinar presentation remotely, please only join at 10:45am.  Please note we have one zoom link for both meetings.