Diet and physical activity
Researching how diet, physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight can help people lead better lives and improve their wellbeing.
Front view shot of a multi generation family walking through a woodland forest
Our research is focused on diet, physical activity and helping people maintain a healthy body weight.
Improving what people eat and how active they are is important because not everyone is affected by these issues in the same way. People on a low income and those from ethnic minorities are more likely to experience the negative effects of health inequalities. Because of this we develop and test new ways of improving physical activity, diet and healthy weight maintenance through technology and innovation.
To make sure that our work prioritises the needs of those people most affected by health inequalities, we have partnered with the Bradford Institute of Health Research. Bradford is a city where 30% of adults are unemployed and 40% of the city’s wards are among some of the poorest in Britain. Joining forces will let our research teams tackle issues of nutrition and physical activity that impact the communities living in our cities most.
View all research projects from this theme
PASSPORT: Creating a school-specific physical activity portfolio
Theme Diet and physical activity
Workstream Population diet and physical activity
Improving weight loss in young people living with obesity
Theme Diet and physical activity
Workstream Clinical diet and physical activity
Is hydrogel safe and effective for weight loss?
Theme Diet and physical activity
Workstream Clinical diet and physical activity
Sticking to a wholefood diet means you really can eat much more and be well-nourished but still consume far fewer calories, new research reveals
- 20 January 2026
Somali men’s workshop sheds light on barriers and opportunities for prostate cancer conversations
- 4 December 2025
New intervention could increase adolescents’ motivation to manage their weight
- 4 November 2025