The latest news from the Centre for Diet and Activity Research
- Vacancy: Research Associate for sugar tax evaluation
- FRESH Study Steering Committee – community members wanted
- Evaluating GoActive – a journey of 25,000 miles (so far!)
- DfT updates walking and cycling guidance based on CEDAR research
- Changing the way we travel – Dr Jenna Panter blogs for Sustrans
- Only 24 hours in a day – why does this matter for health research?
- Upcoming Seminars
- Latest CEDAR publications
Vacancy: Research Associate for evaluation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy
We are looking to appoint a post-doctoral Research Associate with experience in quantitative research methods to contribute to an evaluation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (‘sugar tax’).
This is a unique and exciting opportunity to contribute to internationally important dietary public health research.
The project, funded by the National Institute of Health Research’s Public Health Research Programme is a collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The post-holder will contribute to evaluation of the impact of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy on soft drink purchasing and consumption, childhood obesity, and dental health. Using natural experimental approaches, these analyses will make use of existing data from Kantar WorldPanel, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, the National Childhood Measurement Programme, and Hospital Episodes Statistics. You will also contribute to quantitative analyses of national survey data that we will collect specifically for the project on evolving attitudes to sugar, sugary drinks and the levy.
- Full job details at: jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/15110/
- Visit the study page on the CEDAR website
- Read a recent NIHR press release about the study
FRESH Study Steering Committee – community members wanted
CEDAR researchers are in the process of forming the Study Steering Committee for the FRESH (Families Reporting Every Step to Health) study. We would like to include members of the community to be involved, and we are looking for people with a child in school Years 3-6.
What is FRESH? FRESH is a family-based study that aims to improve family physical activity by encouraging all family members to virtually travel across the world.
Who are we looking for? We’re looking for parents of children in years 3-6 to be involved with the Committee, alongside academics and practitioners, to advise as we plan the next phase of FRESH. We’re interested in their views on issues such as recruiting families and feasibility of the FRESH project.
What is the time commitment? The Committee will meet up to twice a year in Cambridge. Members will receive payments for attending meetings, and travel and parking costs will be covered.
- Read about FRESH at cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/research/directory/fresh
- More about the Steering Committee from Justin Guagliano justin.guagliano@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk
Evaluating GoActive – a journey of 25,000 miles (so far!)
GoActive is an innovative physical activity promotion programme, developed with students and teachers, set in UK secondary schools. The programme includes the whole of Year 9, and encourages students to try new physical activities with their friends.
Since September 2016, we’ve been evaluating its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness using a cluster randomised controlled trial.
The GoActive team has completed the first, second, and third waves of measurement – travelling around 25,000 miles and visiting more than 200 school. They have handed out just under 8000 questionnaires and just over 5000 Axivity monitors (a wrist-worn device used to measure physical activity) to teenagers in Cambridgeshire and Essex.
More than 85% of all eligible students were recruited into the study at baseline (2880 13-14 year olds). Approximately 88% of these students were re-measured at the first follow-up wave, and 97% again at second follow-up. The fourth and final wave commences in March next year, after which researchers will examine the impact of the GoActive programme on physical activity, weight status, and psychological and social outcomes.
- For more about GoActive visit goactive-uk.com
- Email Dr Helen Elizabeth Brown: goactive-uk@mrc.epid.cam.ac.uk
- Follow on Twitter: @GoActiveCamb
Department for Transport updates walking and cycling guidance based on CEDAR research
The Department for Transport (DFT) has published proposed changes for their Transport Appraisal Guidance (TAG) for active travel based on CEDAR research which brings together the latest understanding of the various benefits of cycling and walking.
The new guidance specifies the appraisal process for projects that support walking and cycling in England.
The previous guidance only looked at the health benefits for the working age population. The new method predicts slightly higher overall health benefits because it includes the larger impact on older age groups. When considering the working age adults only, the population-wide benefits come out as slightly lower.
The proposed method is accompanied by a report that summarises the current understanding of the health benefits of cycling and walking, as well as a spreadsheet toolkit which allows users to calculate the health benefits of specific walking and cycling projects.
Changing the way we travel – Dr Jenna Panter blogs for Sustrans
Car use has negative impacts on public health through road traffic accidents, air pollution and physical inactivity. The car’s contribution to the first two of these problems is relatively well recognised, but inactivity is less well understood.
Getting people to walk, cycle and make greater use of public transport therefore has benefits for health.
But how do we make it happen? And what do we know from the scientific literature about what happens when we change the places where we live in order to influence our choices about how to travel?
Lou’s Tuesday. Only 24 hours in a day – why does this matter for health research?
There are only 24 hours in a day. Why does this matter for health research? Dr Lou Foley has made a short video to introduce the concept of compositions and compositional data analysis.
In three minutes and 45 seconds of live action and stop motion, Lou will take you through a typical Tuesday. She’ll show you how daily time can be understood as a composition, and she’ll tell you why that matters for health.
Lou is currently working on a sequel…
Upcoming seminars
CEDAR / MRC Epidemiology Seminar: 18 October 2017, 12:30 – 13:30
Global trade in food and agriculture and the risk of non-communicable diseases in low and middle income countries
Dr Anne Marie Thow, Senior Lecturer in Health Policy, University of Sydney
Meeting Rooms 1&2, Level 4, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus
CEDAR / MRC Epidemiology Seminar: 8 November 2017, 12:30 – 13:30
Building your best day: combining compositional analysis and optimisation theory
Professor Tim Olds, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia
MRC Epidemiology Unit Meeting Rooms 1 & 2, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Bradford Hill Seminar: 24 November 2017, 13:00-14:00
Evidence is Not Enough: Towards a democratically legitimate role for evidence in health policymaking
Dr Katherine Smith, Global Public Health Unit Social Policy, University of Edinburgh
Large Seminar Room, 1st Floor, Institute of Public Health, University Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge.
CEDAR / MRC Epidemiology Seminar: 4 January 2018, 12:00 – 13:00
The supermarket food environment and the promotion of healthier purchasing behaviour
Dr Adrian Cameron, Senior Research Fellow at the Deakin University Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE).
MRC Epidemiology Unit Meeting Rooms 1 & 2, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Bradford Hill Seminar: 21 January 2018, 13:00-14:00
Dr Geoff Wong, Nuffield & University of Oxford. Title TBC. Dr Wong’s research interest is in the use of realist approaches to make sense of complex health and social interventions.
Large Seminar Room, 1st Floor, Institute of Public Health, University Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge
- More talks and events at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/events and www.iph.cam.ac.uk/news/seminars
Latest CEDAR publications
The following papers have been published or added to our publications database since the last CEDAR Bulletin. All are Open Access.
General public health
- The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health. Rutter H, Savona N, Glonti K, Bibby J, Cummins S, Finegood DT, Greaves F, Harper L, Hawe P, Moore L, Petticrew M, Rehfuess E, Shiell A, Thomas J, White M. Lancet
- The TIPPME intervention typology for changing environments to change behaviour. Gareth J. Hollands, Giacomo Bignardi, Marie Johnston, Michael P. Kelly, David Ogilvie, Mark Petticrew, Andrew Prestwich, Ian Shemilt, Stephen Sutton & Theresa M. Marteau. Nature Human Behaviour 1
Diet
- Changes in consumption of added sugars from age 13 to 30 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Eleanor M Winpenny, Tarra L Penney, Kirsten Corder, Martin White, Esther MF van Sluijs. Obes Rev
- Does exposure to the food environment differ by socioeconomic position? Comparing area-based and person-centred metrics in the Fenland Study, UK. Eva R Maguire, Thomas Burgoine, Tarra L Penney, Nita G Forouhi, Pablo Monsivais. Int J Health Geogr
- Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. Susanna Mills, Heather Brown, Wendy Wrieden, Martin White, Jean Adams. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act
- Home food preparation practices, experiences and perceptions: A qualitative interview study with photo-elicitation. Susanna Mills, Martin White, Wendy Wrieden, Heather Brown, Martine Stead, Jean Adams. PLoS One
- Utilization of Away-From-Home Food Establishments, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Dietary Pattern, and Obesity. Tarra L Penney, Nicholas RV Jones, Jean Adams, Eva R Maguire, Thomas Burgoine, Pablo Monsivais. Am J Prev Med
Physical activity
- Barriers and facilitators to young children’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour: a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative literature. Hesketh KR, Lakshman R, van Sluijs EMF. Obes Rev.
- Change in physical activity from adolescence to early adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies. Corder K, Winpenny E, Love R, Brown HE, White M, Sluijs EV. Br J Sports Med
- A cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the GoActive intervention to increase physical activity among adolescents aged 13–14 years. Helen Elizabeth Brown, Fiona Whittle, Stephanie T Jong, Caroline Croxson, Stephen J Sharp, Paul Wilkinson, Edward CF Wilson, Esther MF van Sluijs, Anna Vignoles, Kirsten Corder. BMJ Open
- Does exposure to new transport infrastructure result in modal shifts? Patterns of change in commute mode choices in a four-year quasi-experimental cohort study. Eva Heinen, Amelia Harshfield, Jenna Panter, Roger Mackett, David Ogilvie. Journal of Transport & Health
- Dog ownership supports the maintenance of physical activity during poor weather in older English adults: cross-sectional results from the EPIC Norfolk cohort. Wu YT, Luben R, Jones A. J Epidemiol Community Health
- Effects of urban motorways on physical activity and sedentary behaviour in local residents: a natural experimental study. Prins RG, Foley L, Mutrie N, Ogilvie DB on behalf of the M74 Study Team. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act
- Equity effects of children’s physical activity interventions: a systematic scoping review. Rebecca E. Love, Jean Adams, Esther M. F. van Sluij. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act
- Health impact modelling of different travel patterns on physical activity, air pollution and road injuries for São Paulo, Brazil. Thiago Hérick de Sá, Marko Tainio, Anna Goodman, Phil Edwards, Andy Haines, Nelson Gouveia, Carlos Monteiro, James Woodcock. Environ Int.
- Longitudinal associations between built environment characteristics and changes in active commuting. Lin Yang, Simon Griffin, Kay-Tee Khaw, Nick Wareham, Jenna Panter. BMC Public Health
- Missed opportunities in the evaluation of public health interventions: a case study of physical activity programmes. Sarah Hanson, Andy Jones. BMC Public Health
- Recruiting adult participants to physical activity intervention studies using sport: a systematic review. Rachel Cook, Andy Jones. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med
- A systematic review of methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity. L. Uijtdewilligen, H. E. Brown, F. Müller-Riemenschneider, Y. W. Lim, S. Brage, E. M. van Sluijs. Obesity Reviews
- Understanding bicycling in cities using system dynamics modelling. Alexandra Macmillan, James Woodcock. Journal of Transport & Health
You can search over 400 CEDAR scientific papers by author, journal, study, title and abstract keywords on our publications database at www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/publications
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Questions and comments to Oliver Francis: ocf26@cam.ac.uk