News
Children may benefit when parents adopt healthier habits to lose weight
Independent research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Paediatrics Open found that many parents attending weight management groups reported positive changes in their children’s health behaviours, including increased physical activity and eating healthier food. The survey, funded by the National Institute for Health…
Researcher perspectives: Jody Salton
Jody Salton is one of our PhD students. She is exploring whether the micronutrient content of food could be influencing our food choices. She is supervised by Professor Jeff Brunstrom, Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, and Dr Dani Ferriday. In August 2026, we spoke to Jody about her academic journey, her PhD…
Researcher perspectives: Monika Jakiel-Rusin
Monika Jakiel-Rusin is a dietician working at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Alongside her role at the hospital, she has been carrying out research funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In July 2026 we spoke to Monika about her work so far…
Healthy Madrasas programme may help physical activity access for Muslim children in Bristol
A childhood obesity prevention programme developed in Bradford’s madrasas could be adapted for use in Bristol, according to research supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Bristol. The Healthy Madrasas programme supports healthy eating and physical activity through Islamic religious settings. The qualitative study…
Mindful eating may reduce food intake, but evidence in real-world settings remains limited
Mindfulness and mindful eating practices could help people eat less in controlled settings, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in Clinical Psychology Review. Researchers found that the effects of mindfulness and mindful eating were larger in laboratory settings and there was no clear evidence…
UK food insecurity interventions for families are limited and need stronger evidence
A new systematic review has found that UK interventions aimed at tackling food insecurity among children, families and pregnant women are limited in quality, scope and long-term impact. In addition, few address the full range of factors shaping whether families can reliably access healthy food. The review,…
Specialist children’s weight services need long-term investment and flexible care
Specialist NHS services for children and young people living with severe obesity need long-term investment, strong multidisciplinary teams and flexible support if they are to deliver lasting benefits, according to new research involving Sheffield Hallam University, Leeds Beckett University and the…
The benefits of using NIHR’s Be Part of Research service
In this blog Jody Salton, PhD candidate from our diet and physical activity (DPA) research theme, discusses using the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Be Part of Research service to recruit participants for her study and provides a step-by-step…
NIHR BRC: Bristol theme leads awarded Senior Investigator status
Professor Russ Jago and Professor Nick Maskell, who both co-lead National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR BRC): Bristol themes, have been awarded Senior Investigator status by the NIHR in 2026. Now in its 19th year of appointments, NIHR Senior Investigators are among the most prominent and…