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Tuesday 12 August 2014 8:08am

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The University's Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre will celebrate its 10-year anniversary next week.

Their aim is clear: reduce the prevalence of diabetes and obesity by finding new ways to prevent and manage these conditions.

It's a goal the team at Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research (EDOR) has been making considerable progress toward in the past decade.

On Tuesday 19 August the Otago research centre will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with a free public lecture and reception at Otago Museum. Staff, students and the general public are invited to attend.

With obesity the major health issue facing the New Zealand population, EDOR Director Professor Jim Mann says he hopes those who attend will come away with a better understanding about the impact of obesity on our health and communities, and how research can make a difference in this area.

"As part of celebrating our achievements we want to share with the wider public how our research contributes to the prevention, treatment and management of diabetes and obesity."

“These are issues that affect a large number of New Zealanders. As part of celebrating our achievements we want to share with the wider public how our research contributes to the prevention, treatment and management of diabetes and obesity.”

Professor Mann and advisory board chair Sir Eion Edgar will open the evening's proceedings after which Professor Boyd Swinburn, renowned clinical and public health researcher, will give a public lecture entitled: "Matching research agendas to the action strategies for preventing obesity and diabetes".

“Professor Swinburn is a world leader in obesity research and will provide an entertaining yet thoughtful summary of where we are at.”

'Where we are at' today, Professor Mann says, is quite different from the landscape in which EDOR was founded.

“Some 10 or so years ago, we recognised that the future held a tidal wave of obesity and diabetes, with all of the resulting health issues. At that time, relatively little was being done in New Zealand to address this problem in a coordinated way. Our vision was therefore to develop a national Centre charged with the responsibility to investigate these important health issues in more depth.

“Many of the same challenges are still there, but with 10 major studies behind us and another 10 currently underway, we are in a much better position to further inform the public, policymakers and the government about what our research has shown will work in tackling this issue.”

Event details:

EDOR Anniversary Celebration & Public Lecture
Tue 19 Aug, 5.15pm
Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum
Register online by Thu 14 Aug

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