WINN UK Co-ordinator
Hello, I’m Cathy Liddiard (she/her), a postgraduate researcher at the University of the West of England and founder of WINN UK!
So why have I set up this network?
During my Masters study (in 2020), I discovered the research on weight-neutral approaches to health. I also interviewed UK registered dietitians who had worked in weight management and then changed to exclusively deliver weight-inclusive approaches like Intuitive Eating or Health at Every Size (HAES TM).
Hearing dietitians who had previously working in the NHS saying that delivering weight management was "really frustrating, really disheartening and really unfulfilling" and that it "kind of broke my heart” was shocking. But then hearing how “blown away” they were by finding out there was another way to support people of all sizes to be healthy really interested me.
Spurred on by those interviews, I've since talked to UK health professionals from across public health, general practice, dietetics and nursing who are either exhausted from delivering cycles of weight management, or are picking up the pieces from their patients who have experienced negative side effects from it (especially my colleagues in the eating disorder field). Practitioners are trying to move away from weight management and to use weight-neutral approaches, but the support and systems just aren't there...yet.
So this network is about connecting people who want to find answers.
What can weight-neutral approaches help with? Who can they benefit? What needs to be adapted, improved or discarded to suit local needs?
To answer these questions and many more, I'm overjoyed to have gathered a fantastic expert committee and am looking forward to connecting with network members who can tell us the issues they are facing. We can then provide the evidence needed to improve health and care practice across the UK.
If you want to be part of WINN UK, please get in touch!
Warm wishes,
WINN UK is led by researchers and health and care professionals in the UK.
Dr Kat Schneider
(she/her)
WINN UK's Scientific Advisor in Weight Inclusive Fitness
I’m a researcher specialising in body image, weight bias, and weight stigma in sport, fitness, and other movement settings. My work is driven by a passion for making these spaces more inclusive, empowering, and stigma-free for people of all body shapes, sizes, and abilities.
Based at the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England in Bristol, I collaborate with academic, community, and industry partners to address harmful body image ideals and tackle weight stigma. My goal is to turn research into meaningful, real-world change so that everyone can feel welcome and supported in active spaces.
I joined WINN-UK because I’m passionate about bridging the gap between academia and real-world practice, working alongside others to create a more weight-inclusive society where everyone can participate fully and confidently in movement.
Dr Angela Meadows
(she/her)
WINN UK's Scientific Advisor in Weight Stigma and Research Methods.
I'm a a social psychologist specialising in weight-related stigma and its impact on health and wellbeing. I have been working in the field of weight stigma for 10 years and am recognised internationally as a leader in the field. I have published over 40 articles and book chapters, am frequently interviewed on television, radio, and press, and have presented expert testimony to UK and international governmental bodies on the relationship between weight and health, and the individual and structural impacts of weight stigma. I founded the interdisciplinary Annual International Weight Stigma Conference.
As the WINN UK Scientific Advisor, I aim to bring together a multidisciplinary knowledge base to ensure the rigour of the evidence underpinning intervention design and methodology, to support other researchers and healthcare professionals in delivering weight neutral care, and to provide a unified voice in advocating for a shift away from a weight-centric health paradigm in the UK.
Holly Campbell
(she/her)
WINN UK's Practice Advisor in Public Health
I am a Public Health Improvement Coordinator, at the City of Doncaster Council and an Advanced Practitioner Fellow, Yorkshire & Humber Association of Directors of Public Health
I work primarily for the Doncaster Public Health team and have been leading on Doncaster's Compassionate Approach to Weight since 2021. I am responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing the approach locally in Doncaster. This includes developing and delivering training, conducting public engagement, designing comms campaigns, and chairing a national Practice Group.
I completed a Masters in Public Health at the University of Sheffield in 2024. My dissertation was an evaluation of the Compassionate Approach training developed by the Doncaster Public Health team. The evaluation was seeking to understand the impact of training participation on levels of weight stigma in the local health and wellbeing workforce.
I am also currently completing a part-time fellowship with the regional ADPH, leading on the priority ambition: “Improving Life Chances for Children & Young People”, with a focus on youth voice and co-production.
My research interests are: weight-inclusive practice, stigma, trauma-informed practice, the food environment, and the commercial determinants of health.
Michelle Barden
(she/her)
WINN UK's Practice Advisor in Eating Disorders
I am a Clinician for the Gloucestershire Eating Disorders Service and also the Research Co-ordinator and Principal Trainer for The Body Project Gloucestershire.
I studied for my Psychology BSc and Health Psychology MSc as a mature student at the University of Gloucestershire.
As a keen advocate for outreach and equity in both eating disorders treatment and associated research, I wanted to join WINN UK because I feel that weight neutrality is lacking in traditional eating disorder treatments. I feel strongly that both clinical environments and treatments would benefit from a weight-inclusive approach where individual health is addressed irrelevant of a person’s size, shape and weight.