Decentered Media Podcast 076 – Communicating About Low-Carb with Jen Unwin and David Unwin

It was fantastic to talk today with Dr Jen Unwin  @jen_unwin and Dr David Unwin @lowcarbgp about their work to promote low-carb health. We talked [...]

The post Decentered Media Podcast 076 – Communicating About Low-Carb with Jen Unwin and David Unwin first appeared on Decentered Media.

It was fantastic to talk today with Dr Jen Unwin  @jen_unwin and Dr David Unwin @lowcarbgp about their work to promote low-carb health. We talked about how they became advocates of low-carb living, and what they have learnt from their use of social media as a tool for communicating a positive message of personal and social change. 

Jen has worked in the NHS for nearly 30 years and over this time has been interested in the way that people cope, and even thrive, with long-term health challenges. Jen believes that patients who are able to maintain their hopefulness and emotional well-being in the face of illness have better quality of life, experience fewer symptoms, take less medication, consult less and even live longer. Jen’s a solution focused practitioner and a former chair of the UK Association for Solution Focused Practice.

David Unwin is a GP based in Southport. David is the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) National Champion for Collaborative Care and Support Planning in Obesity & Diabetes, as well as a Clinical Expert in diabetes. In 2016 he won the NHS ‘Innovator of the Year Award’ NW England. David has written and publish both in medical journals and the popular press, and in recent years has become a convert to social media.

Both Jen and David are directors of Public Health Collaboration UK (PHCUK) which is a registered charity dedicated to informing and implementing healthy decisions for better public health.

So why does the widespread consumption of Carbohydrates matter?

In the UK 25% of adults are obese, the highest prevalence in Europe, and type 2 diabetes has risen by 65% in the past 10 years with no sign of slowing down, both cost the NHS £16 billion a year.  PHCUK publish evidence-based reports on the most pressing public health issues alongside coordinated campaigns and implementing initiatives for improving public health.

Find out more by watching videos from the recent PHCUK conference that are available on YouTube.

The question we discussed, is how we can go about changing this, and what might be the role of media and social media that can help to get the message about low-carb out into the public domain?

The post Decentered Media Podcast 076 – Communicating About Low-Carb with Jen Unwin and David Unwin first appeared on Decentered Media.