The latest news from the Centre for Diet and Activity Research
- Neighbourhood food environments, diet and health – 4 November 2014
- High-quality traffic-free routes encourage more walking and cycling – results from the iConnect consortium
- 500th baby joins pioneering infant nutrition study
- New Evidence Brief: Are takeaways adding pounds?
- Food, income and education: infographic now interactive!
- Research highlights
- CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Unit Seminars
Are you in a healthy place right now? Neighbourhood food environments, diet and health
4 November 2014, 10am – 4pm, Møller Centre, Cambridge
What do we really know about the connections between the neighbourhood food environment, diet and health, and how should policy and planning be used to promote public health?
This meeting will feature presentations by leading researchers and policymakers in this field, and will provide plenty of time for discussion and interaction.
This meeting will be of interest to policymakers, practitioners, campaigners and academic researchers working in public health, planning, education and health equity. It is free of charge, but registration is essential as places are limited.
- When: Tuesday 4 November 2014, 10.00am – 4pm
- Where: Møller Centre, Cambridge, CB3 0DS
- Find out more and view the programme at www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/healthy-place-2014
- Register for the event
High-quality traffic-free routes encourage more walking and cycling
New results from the iConnect consortium
The provision of new, high-quality, traffic-free cycling and walking routes in local communities has encouraged more people to get about by foot and by bike, according to a new study involving CEDAR researchers published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Two years after new routes were developed by charity Sustrans with local authority partners, people living nearby increased their total levels of physical activity, compared to those living further away. This could make a substantial contribution to helping people achieve the two and a half hours of physical activity per week recommended by health experts.
- Read the full story
- Read the full paper New walking and cycling routes and increased physical activity: one- and two-year findings from the UK iConnect study, by Anna Goodman, Shannon Sahlqvist and David Ogilvie, American Journal of Public Health
The story was covered in online and social media, including Mail Online, Road CC, and Medical Xpress.
500th baby joins pioneering infant nutrition study
Baby Milk study aiding understanding of infant feeding, appetite, behaviour and growth.
On Thursday 10 July 2014, researchers welcomed Jessica and her mother as she became the 500th participant in the Baby Milk study at the MRC Epidemiology Unit / CEDAR.
The aim of the study is to evaluate a package of support for parents who are bottle-feeding, as previous studies by the team have shown that many parents who give their babies formula-milk are asking for more information and support. The 500th recruit is a major step on the way to meeting the target of 700 participants, and the study is still keen to recruit more families.
- Read the full story
- More about the Baby Milk study
- Volunteer via babymilkstudy@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk / 0800 7560878
This story was also covered by Cambridge News.
Evidence Brief – Are takeaways adding pounds?
Fast food outlets where we live and work may affect our health
Where we live and work can affect the type of food choices we are able to make, which in turn can impact on our weight and health. New research from CEDAR is adding insight into how takeaways near our home, work and travel routes can increase consumption and obesity levels.
- View the Evidence Brief as a web page
- Download as a pdf
- Order printed copies from ocf26@cam.ac.uk
- More Evidence Briefs here
This evidence Brief provides a summary of the recent research featured in the media earlier in the year, including BBC News, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Huffington Post, Cambridge News, the Naked Scientists podcast and many others.
Food, income and education: infographic now interactive!
In February, using data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, we launched an infographic looking at how the types and quantities of food we eat are influenced by income and education.
It spread on Twitter, quickly becoming the most visited page on our website, and was featured in the Washington Post online, Reddit and the Fuse open science blog.
We have been working on a new interactive version which you can view here. Please note this is in beta and may not display fully in all browsers.
We hope to use this approach to display more research data in the future, and your comment and questions are welcome – contact Oliver, ocf26@cam.ac.uk
Research highlights
Recent publications involving CEDAR researchers. All are Open Access.
- Lost in translation? Theory, policy and practice in systems-based environmental approaches to obesity prevention in the Healthy Towns programme in England. Elena Sautkina, Denise Goodwin, Andy Jones, David Ogilvie, Mark Petticrew, Martin White, Steven Cummins. Health & Place.
- Individual Characteristics Associated with Mismatches between Self-Reported and Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity. Mark Tully, Jenna Panter, David Ogilvie. PLoS One.
- The relation of potassium and sodium intakes to diet cost among US adults. Drewnowski A, Rehm CD, Maillot M, Monsivais P Journal of Human Hypertension
- The contribution of media analysis to the evaluation of environmental interventions: the commuting and health in Cambridge study. Joanna Kesten, Simon Cohn and David Ogilvie. BMC Public Health.
- Associations between sedentary behaviour and physical activity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. Pearson N, Braithwaite RE, Biddle SJ, van Sluijs EM, Atkin AJ. Obesity Review.
- Does walking explain associations between access to greenspace and lower mortality? Kate Lachowycz, Andy Jones. Social Science & Medicine
- Activity levels in mothers and their preschool children. Kathryn R. Hesketh, Laura Goodfellow, Ulf Ekelund, Alison M. McMinn, Keith M. Godfrey, Hazel M. Inskip, Cyrus Cooper, Nicholas C. Harvey, and Esther M.F. van Sluijs. Pediatrics.
- Independent mobility on the journey to school: A joint cross-sectional and prospective exploration of social and physical environmental influences Alison Carver, Jenna R Panter, Andrew P Jones, Esther MF van Sluijs. Journal of Transport & Health.
You can search nearly 200 CEDAR scientific papers by author, journal, study, title and abstract keywords on our publications database at www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/publications
In total over 90% of CEDAR papers are freely available on the web.
CEDAR / MRC Epidemiology Unit Seminars
CEDAR jointly organises a seminar series with the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, a chance to hear from leading researchers in diet and physical activity, along with the occasional policymaker.
Details of current talks are available on our website and at talks.cam.ac.uk. To receive email notifications of the latest talks, complete the form at www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/news/seminars
- Dr Karen Campbell, Associate Professor, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University Thursday 25 September 2014, 12.30 – 1.30pm
Meeting rooms 1&2, MRC Epidemiology Unit, Level 3 Addenbrooke’s Treatment Centre - Professor Sarah Redsell, Anglia Ruskin University
Thursday 6 November 2014, 12.30 – 1.30pm
Meeting rooms 1&2, Level 4 Institute of Metabolic Sciences, Addenbrooke’s Treatment Centre
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Questions and comments to Oliver Francis: ocf26@cam.ac.uk