Prof. Jason Halford

Prof. Jason Halford is Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds, outgoing President of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) - May 2024, and former Chair of the UK Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO).

Jason also served two terms as EASO treasurer between 2014 and 2020 and is a Chartered Health Psychologist. Over the past 10 years his research has focused on drug-induced weight gain, the effects of nutrients and fibre on appetite and hormone release, the effects of stress on eating behaviour, the effect of marketing on children, and weight status differences in the expression of appetite. In 1999, Jason co-founded the Human Ingestive Behaviour Laboratory at the University of Liverpool, and in 2004 he also co-founded the Liverpool Obesity Research Network (LORN). Jason is coordinator of the SWITCH study, a new trial to examine the impact of artificial sweeteners on appetite in the context of active weight management and is one of the coordinating leads for the €9 million H2020 SWEET project, which examines the risks and benefits of using sweeteners to replace sugar in the diet in the contexts of health, obesity, safety and sustainability. Jason is also a local lead for iKnowFood. Additionally, he is a Board member of the European Coalition of People Living with Obesity (ECPO).

Jason is Lead of the ACTION-Teens Study which looks at the experiences of adolescents living with obesity globally, and leads the ‘My First 1000 Days’ project, which aims to improve health and social outcomes for primary caregivers and their 0-2-year-olds in the Leeds, UK area.

Jason has always been committed to building sustainable and effective organisations. In his roles in ASO UK and EASO at the European level, he worked with board members to steer both organisations through financial challenges while delivering strategic objectives. Trust and teamwork were critical in steering both organisations to more sustainable positions. Across the EASO network, he stressed the concepts of ‘family’ and ‘better together’ to develop a culture of collaboration and mutual respect, building capacity, and strengthening community. This underpinned EASO's approach to working with national member societies, other international obesity societies, and other stakeholders and key partners, and had been an essential element in moving forward the agenda demanding recognition of obesity as a chronic relapsing disease, advocating for effective obesity management, and challenging weight bias and obesity stigma.