11th UK Congress on Obesity (UKCO) 2026
17–18 September 2026 · Cutlers' Hall, Sheffield, United Kingdom · In-Person
Theme: Obesity Through Different Life Stages
Satellite events: Wednesday 16 September 2026
About the congress
The UK Congress on Obesity (UKCO) is the flagship annual event of the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO) and the principal UK meeting for everyone working in obesity prevention, management and treatment. Now in its 11th edition, UKCO 2026 comes to Sheffield, hosted at the historic Cutlers' Hall in the city centre — one of the finest livery halls in northern England — with a local organising committee co-led by Dr Laura Gray (University of Sheffield) and Dr Catherine Homer (Sheffield Hallam University).
The landscape of obesity prevention, management and treatment across the life course is changing rapidly, from the arrival of GLP-1 and other obesity medications to the redesign of specialist weight management services and children and young people's clinics. UKCO 2026 responds with a theme of "Obesity Through Different Life Stages", bringing together the latest scientific research, policy analysis and — importantly — patient and public perspectives in one packed two-day programme of plenary lectures, member-led symposia, oral and poster abstracts, rapid-fire and three-minute early career presentations, and structured networking.
A distinctive feature of UKCO is the depth of PPIE (Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement) built into the congress: PPIE co-chairs sit alongside academic chairs in symposia, a PPIE-led topic review closes the scientific programme, and delegates can book one-to-one sessions with people living with overweight and obesity to understand lived experience first-hand.
Programme highlights
Day 1 — Thursday 17 September
- Plenary 1 (Policy and Practice): Obesity, complexity, and policy: why we keep getting it wrong — and what to do next — Professor Jim McManus, Public Health Wales
- Prize awards: ASO Best Practice Award (Lisa Buchanan) and ASO Ken Clare Award (Elysa Ioannou, ENHANCE team)
- Symposia and oral abstracts across three tracks: ENHANCE findings on England's CEW clinics for children and young people; maternal obesity and reproductive health from preconception to pregnancy; specialist weight management and wider stakeholders; pitfalls in transdisciplinary obesity research
- Three-Minute Early Career Competition
- Plenary 2 (Children and Young People): Twenty-five years' experience managing children and adolescents with excess weight — Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, University of Bristol
- Drinks reception and poster viewing, 17:00–18:30
Day 2 — Friday 18 September
- Optional Sheffield Walk with the organisers, 07:30–08:30
- Plenary 3 (Pregnancy and Maternal): Bridging body and mind: addressing inequities in obesity and perinatal mental health within maternity care — Professor Hora Soltani, Sheffield Hallam University
- Obesity medications strand: Beyond GLP-1 medications — why behavioural and psychological support still matters; co-designing dietary guidance for obesity management medications across the devolved nations; efficacy and heterogeneity in medication use for weight management
- Oral abstracts on lived experience of obesity and complications in children and in adults, and rethinking weight management in local authority practice, systems approaches and digital delivery
- ASO Annual General Meeting, mentor/mentee meetup and PPIE bookable sessions
- Plenary 4 (Obesity and Ageing): From life course to later life: obesity and nutrition in middle-older age — Professor Liz Williams, University of Sheffield
- PPIE-led topic review, prizes and close of congress, 16:00
Satellite events — 16 September 2026
Three additional ASO events run the day before the congress: the Early Career Network (ECN) Day (all ASO early career members), the Centres for Obesity Management (COMs) Event (ASO clinical members), an ASO Yorkshire Network event, and a public-facing event.
Call for abstracts and symposia
- Member-led symposium proposals — deadline 31 March 2026 (submission guidelines and portal via ASO)
- Oral, poster, rapid-fire and three-minute early career abstracts — deadline extended to 25 May 2026
Registration
Registration is open via the official EventsAir portal and closes Wednesday 2 September 2026. Early bird rates ended 30 June 2026. Rates include VAT.
| Category | Early bird | Standard | On-site |
|---|
| ASO member | £350 | £450 | £600 + fee |
| Non-member | £500 | £600 | £600 + fee |
| Student member | £250 | £350 | £600 + fee |
| Student non-member | £350 | £450 | £600 + fee |
Flat rates: PPIE delegate £300 · commercial/industry representatives £600 · press and media £600. Group booking forms are available for five or more delegates. On-site registrants must pay at the point of registration.
Who should attend
Obesity medicine and endocrinology clinicians; bariatric and weight management teams; dietitians and nutritionists; public health professionals and policymakers; paediatricians and maternity clinicians; psychologists and behavioural scientists; primary care and nursing teams; academic researchers and PhD/early career researchers; PPIE representatives and people with lived experience.
Venue: Cutlers' Hall, 7–15 Church Street, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 1HG, UK
Official page: https://aso.org.uk/events/ukco-2026/
