Fighting ‘lifestyle diseases’
An Auckland nutrition expert has been awarded thousands of dollars to continue her fight against lifestyle diseases.
Dr Jennifer Crowley, a tutor at the University of Auckland, was awarded the inaugural Campbell Fellowship of up to $25,000 to pursue her studies overseas.
She will attend a summit in Cambridge, England, and study nutritional training programmes that are showing good results in helping general practitioners achieve improved outcomes in the area.
Crowley hopes to bring the successful practises back to Auckland. ‘‘We are seeing a big increase in lifestyle diseases connected to weight gain and diet is a vital part of addressing this challenge,’’ Crowley said.
‘‘We know that patients value GPs’ advice, and if GPs recommend something, patients are much more likely to give it a go.’’
She said many GPs don’t have the knowledge or time to fully address nutrition in their clinics. ‘‘We are trying to find new ways to help GPs help their patients and that is how a person on the street can benefit because we hope to learn from practises that are proving successful overseas.’’
Crowley has always had a passion for advancing nutrition care in New Zealand. The Campbell Fellowship is awarded to medical researchers at The University of Auckland, to support overseas research.