Obesity
Why do we do research in this area?
Most people in the UK are overweight or obese. Obesity co-exists with many other chronic diseases and may be a precursor or mediator of these diseases (for example, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes). Ultimately, the cause of obesity is an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure (although the precise causes are far more complex).
Obesity can be observed in children (even very young children), and it is likely that many chronic diseases have their origins during childhood. In addition to the maintenance of an appropriate body composition, physical activity can also (independently) prevent some of the complications of obesity (people can be ‘fat but fit’).
Understanding the mechanisms that are involved in the protective effects of physical activity may pave the way for new therapies and treatments.
What do we do?
Our research in obesity ranges from large epidemiological studies of physical activity and adiposity in children through to mechanistic studies that seek to either intervene (to develop effective interventions) or to understand the underlying physiology of adipose tissue and its relationship with health.
Examples of our research
| Project title | Aim/findings | People and partners | Funder |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Children’s Accelerometer Database (ICAD) | To pool data from 40,000 children with accelerometer measured physical activity |
|
Medical Research Council (National Prevention Research Initiative) |
| International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE) | To measure the influence of the physical environment and lifestyle on the development of obesity in children |
|
Pennington Biomedical Center |
| Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) | To measure associations between physical activity and adiposity during adolescence |
|
Medical Research Council Wellcome Trust National Institute for Health (USA) |
| Energy balance and adipose tissue function | To examine the biology of adipose tissue in the context of increased energy expenditure (physical activity), increased energy intake (overfeeding) and reduced energy intake (caloric restriction) |
|
BBSRC Unilever University of Bath |
