William Philip Trehearne James (June 27, 1938 – October 5, 2023) was a British professor.[1]
James was born in Liverpool, England in 1938, but grew up in Bala, Snowdonia, Wales.[2] [3] His family members were Quakers.[3]
James attended Ackworth School and later studied medicine at UCL Medical School.[2] [1]
In 1965, James was sent by the Medical Research Council to study malnutrition in Jamaica, where he developed treatments for children with severe malnutrition and diarrhoea.[2] [1] He later became director of the Rowett Institute in 1982, a leading nutrition research institute, and worked on projects for the World Health Organization (WHO).[2] [1]
In the early 1980s, James co-authored a report by the National Advisory Committee on Nutrition Education, which provided recommendations on reducing fat, sugar, and salt intake in the British diet.[2]
In 1995, James founded the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and organized the first WHO global burden analysis of obesity, highlighting the substantial disease burden associated with high Body mass index.[2] He also established the International Association for the Study of Obesity (now the World Obesity Federation), serving as its president from 2007 to 2014.[2]
James was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1986 and appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1993.[2]
William Philip T James Award is named after him.[3]
James was married to Jean Moorhouse from 1961 until his death, and they had two children.[2] [3]