This report issues a call for urgent action to combat the growing epidemic of obesity, which now affects developing and industrialized countries alike. Adopting a public health approach, the report responds to both the enormity of health problems associated with obesity and the notorious difficulty of treating this complex, multifactorial disease. With these problems in mind, the report aims to help policy-makers introduce strategies for prevention and management that have the greatest chance of success. The importance of prevention as the most sensible strategy in developing countries, where obesity coexists with undernutrition, is repeatedly emphasized. Recommended lines of action, which reflect the consensus reached by 25 leading authorities, are based on a critical review of current scientific knowledge about the causes of obesity in both individuals and populations. While all causes are considered, major attention is given to behavioural and societal changes that have increased the energy density of diets, overwhelmed sophisticated regulatory systems that control appetite and maintain energy balance, and reduced physical activity. Specific topics discussed range from the importance of fat content in the food supply as a cause of population-wide obesity, through misconceptions about obesity held by both the medical profession and the public, to strategies for dealing with the alarming prevalence of obesity in children. "... the volume is clearly written, and carries a wealth of summary information that is likely to be invaluable for anyone interested in the public health aspects of obesity and fatness, be they students, practitioner or researcher." - Journal of Biosocial Science

Despite advances in modern dentistry, untreated dental caries in permanent teeth was reported as one the most prevalent conditions assessed in 2017 Global Burden of Disease. The restorative model for managing dental caries was developed in the 1900s, alongside dental amalgam as one of the restorative materials. The Minamata Convention on Mercury (2013) is an international legally binding treaty that aims to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The convention addresses mercury-added products, including dental amalgam, which is made of approximately 50% of elemental mercury by weight and proposes nine measures to phase down the use of dental amalgam. In March 2021, the WHO Oral Health Programme conducted an informal consultation with policymakers in the field of dental public health to better understand progress in phasing down the use of dental amalgam at global, regional, and national levels. This report describes the 2021 consultation, which had objectives to understand the extent of implementation of the nine phase-down measures; to gather knowledge of the use of mercury-free alternatives to dental amalgam; and to identify additional measures being implemented to phase down the use of dental amalgam.

The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center's Bioethics Consultation Service draws on a decade of experience to share a collection of their most interesting and informative research ethics consultations. The result is insight into the ethical issues that arise in clinical research and the practice of research ethics consultation.

This paper sets out the Government's approach for the future of child maintenance, building on existing legislation. It also launches a consultation on the details of policy implementation stemming from draft regulations which will underpin charging, and what will happen in existing cases under the Child Support Agency (CSA) during the closure process. In 2011/12 the Department for Work and Pensions spent almost £6 billion on providing help to 600,000 single parents through income-related benefits including Income Support, Housing Benefit, and Council Tax Benefit. Offsetting the cost of providing benefits to lone parents was a key objective of the original 1993 statutory child maintenance scheme. The Government's view is that too many parents come to see the CSA as the default option for arranging maintenance, and believes a better a way to secure effective maintenance arrangement, including financial maintenance is to support parents in reaching their own arrangements wherever possible. The publication is divided into eight chapters, with three annexes.