News Archive

Dietary fat - friend or foe? – University of Reading

Obesity will be the topic of tonight's (November 14 2006) public lecture - the second in this year's University of Reading public lecture series. In the next thought-provoking lecture Professor Christine Williams poses the question Dietary fat - friend or foe? The beneficial properties of fat. "The problem of obesity is not simply the over consumption of any particular type of food," explains Professor Williams. "Recent research indicates major beneficial properties of certain types of dietary fat and it is important this knowledge is exploited through changes in the type of fats in the food chain." As always the lectures are free and open to everyone. They will feature some of the University's top academics talking about a diverse range of fascinating subjects in a manner that is easily understood by all. Each one lasts for approximately 40 minutes and afterwards time is allowed so the audience may comment and ask questions, giving a real chance for people to get involved and make the most of their evening. The night seldom ends without some lively debate! Professor Michael Fulford, from the School of Human and Environmental Sciences, ends the year with Silchester Roman town - Celebrating the first ten years. This intriguing lecture will highlight the key results of the University's excavation of the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), which began in 1997. "The dig is revealing a town that changed radically over time, with a major reorganisation during the third century, and abandonment in the fifth-sixth century," says Professor Fulford," the Project's Director. "The research provides a fascinating portrait of the changing life, occupations and values of the inhabitants." "As one of the major providers of education in the Thames Valley, we are proud to hold these kinds of public lectures," says Alison Fabian, Lecture Series organiser. "What makes our lectures so unique and popular is the quality of speaker, their ability to engage the audience and of course some wonderfully varied topics. They offer a unique opportunity to learn about the research, teaching and people that make the University a world-class institute. These first three talks are bound to be extremely interesting and are a great start to the 2006/2007 Series." The full schedule, from now on, for the University of Reading Public Lecture Series 2006-2007 is: Tuesday 14 November 2006 - Dietary fat - friend or foe? The beneficial properties of fat Professor Christine Williams, School of Food Biosciences Tuesday 28 November 2006 - Silchester Roman town - celebrating the first ten years Professor Michael Fulford, School of Human and Environmental Sciences Tuesday 23 January 2007 - Glaciers and climate change - the view from space Dr Chris Stokes, Department of Geography Tuesday 20 February 2007 - Early words - What do they tell us? Dr Graham Schafer, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences Tuesday 6 March 2007 - Living under "totalitarianism" - the Italians and the Mussolini dictatorship Professor Richard Bosworth, School of Humanities All of the University Public Lectures start at 8pm and will be held in the Palmer Building on the University's Whiteknights campus. Lectures are free to attend and no ticket is required. For further information, please visit the public lecture series website or contact Alison Fabian in the University's Communications Office on (tel) 0118 378 7110 or (email) a.m.fabian@rdg.ac.uk Ends For media enquiries only, please contact Lucy Ferguson, the University's senior press officer on: (Tel) 0118 378 7388 (Email) L.Ferguson@reading.ac.uk Notes to Editors: The University of Reading is one of the foremost research-led universities in the UK. Founded in the nineteenth century and gaining a Royal Charter in 1926, we offer a wide range of programmes from the pure and applied sciences to languages, social sciences and fine art. New research and the latest thinking continually feed into undergraduate teaching, with our academic staff working at the forefront of their fields of expertise. For further information visit the University of Reading website