They witness
- Jeanne BottinHealth Strategy Senior Manager at Danone
- Kevin CaillaudChief Science & Innovation Officer at Kinvent
- Aline Victor, Nutrition & Business Development expertise project manager at Nutrisens
- Caroline Pecheryco-founder of ScanUp
- Hafida Ahansalin charge of relations with users, patients and social inclusion within the League against Obesity.
- Jennifer Sitrukcommercial director of Gymlib
Fighting obesity from an R&D center in the food industry
I put everyone around the table to make them think about a public health issue.
Jeanne Bottin, Health Strategy Senior Manager at Danone.
“During my training as an agricultural engineer specializing in the biology of human food, I worked for an NGO on the subject of malnutrition and then in R&D on dairy products. I then did a PhD on appetite regulation in overweight and obese people, during which I conducted several clinical studies. In 2014, I felt that I was going to have more impact on public health, especially obesity, by joining a group like Danone and defining the products of tomorrow rather than staying in the academic world. Today, I am in charge of Danone’s health strategy for the dairy products category. My role is to interact with decision-makers and their teams on what constitutes a “good” product for health, i.e. a fermented product, reduced in sugar, providing nutrients such as calcium, minerals , vitamins… So I act as a catalyst between marketing, research and innovation. It’s a job that makes sense to me because I bring everyone around the table to make them think about a public health issue. »
WHO warns of the scourge of obesity in Europe
Obesity is often referred to as one of the greatest public health threats of the 21st century. According to recent WHO statistics, 59% of adults in Europe are overweight or obese. This is the highest percentage of any WHO region except the Americas.
Overweight and obesity are among the main causes of death and disability in Europe, and are linked to many pathologies such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. They cause more than 1.2 million deaths per year. Today, none of the 53 European countries is likely to be able to halt rising obesity levels by 2025.
MedTech fights obesity and attracts reconverted scientists
Through my mission, I participate in the therapeutic education of obese patients.
Kevin Caillaud, Chief Science & Innovation Officer at Kinvent
“My role within the start-up Kinvent, which markets connected devices for physiotherapists, is to manage the software roadmap (hardware and software) and to make the use of our medical devices as simple as possible. I am not from Tech but from the world of science. After having worked in the field, in the support of high-level athletes and then in the office with overweight people suffering from chronic pain, I switched to the world of Tech, which is very open to profiles from outside the seraglio. My job has a lot of meaning: I support the paradigm shift that is the digitization of health professions and I objectively assess the health of patients, especially obese people. Via our application, they can indeed have access to the health data that concerns them and thus take power over their situation. Through my mission, I therefore participate in the therapeutic education of these patients. I also give them self-confidence by instilling motivation, which is key for obese people seeking a new lifestyle. »
Dieticians in the food industry, influencers at the heart of the fight
I work with multidisciplinary teams that provide solutions to patients who suffer from a pathology such as obesity, malnutrition, diabetes…
Aline Victor, Nutrition & Business Development expertise project manager at Nutrisens
“I was first a freelance dietician and then in a collective health catering group. Then I joined the food industry. At Nutrisens, my missions are cross-functional: I work both at the product development with the marketing teams and I train our sales people on the technicality of our products. I also work with our clients (coordinating doctors, medical directors, non-medical staff, etc.) in order to make them aware of nutrition. My pride is to have created a network made up of 80 liberal dietitians in France, in the midst of a health crisis and to have, through it, trained more than 200 health professionals! What I like best about my job is working with multi-professional teams but also providing solutions to patients who suffer from a pathology such as obesity, malnutrition, diabetes… We work for example to develop products dedicated to obese people who have undergone bariatric surgery so that they do not lose their muscle mass. »
A warrior on the lookout for Nutriscore in a FoodTech
With our application, we help consumers, including obese people, to choose products that are good for their health.
Caroline Pechery, co-founder of ScanUp
“After working for KPMG, in particular with restaurant and distribution franchises, I co-founded ScanUp appwhose objective is toanalyze the quality of food products present in the supermarket. My first challenge was to provide transparency on the nutritional quality of the products, in particular by displaying scores including the Nutriscore and the Nova score, which assesses the degree of processing of the products, at the origin of the emergence of chronic diseases such as obesity. The second challenge was to support manufacturers in the development of their offer, therefore to improve their recipe by reducing the sugar, salt and saturated fatty acids in their products. For example, we provide them with benchmarks when they launch a new offer and want to position it on their market. Today, what makes me particularly proud is having succeeded in developing a tool that has an impact. With our application, we help consumers, including obese people, to choose products that are good for their health. It is also to have a whistleblower role. »
The associative choice to help obese people
My job allows me to respond to a public health issue, which affects one in two French people, and on which there is a cruel lack of prevention.
Hafida Ahansal, in charge of relations with users, patients and social inclusion within the League against Obesity.
“Before joining the League Against Obesity, I had no particular knowledge of obesity. However, this pathology questioned me, because it is multi-factorial, and not simply linked to a diet or a sedentary lifestyle. After having worked, by vocation, in the social sector, I therefore joined the association, where I am in charge of the mission. It’s a job that allows me to respond to a public health issue, which affects one in two French people, and on which there is a cruel lack of prevention. My role is to manage a hotline, the only one in France dedicated to obesity. The latter informs the patients, whom I prefer to call “beneficiaries”, who have sometimes been in medical wandering for years. I also help social workers and health professionals directing obese people to specialized centres, follow-up care… To perfect my support, which is psycho-social, I draw on the scientific advice that surrounds me, but also on patient advice. »
Commercial in a SportTech motivated to reduce pathologies
Every morning, I get up with this desire to help people transform their lives, so that they are healthier and more active, thanks to sport.
Jennifer Sitruk, commercial director of Gymlib
“If I joined Gymlib, it’s because I wanted to work for a company whose mission is to offer French people a healthier way of life, in a context where the level of stress at work is increasing. Today I have the chance to have an impact by helping employees to have a better life balance, through the practice of a sporting activity. My role as commercial director and that of my team of around thirty people is to convince companies to develop the practice of sport internally. I remember talking to one of our users, who told me that he had lost 20 kilos in six months. He worked in a consulting firm and held a rather sedentary position in Tech. Thanks to the application, he had motivated himself to do running, football and muscle strengthening with his colleagues and had thus found a better lifestyle. Every morning, I get up with this desire to help people transform their lives, so that they are healthier and more active. It makes a lot of sense! »
