Population diet and physical activity

Developing interventions to change diet and physical activity habits.

This workstream uses interventions to change diet and physical activity habits. We work with groups identified as needing new strategies to improve their health, such as children and adolescents or girls of South Asian heritage.

Our work involves developing interventions to increase motivation for physical activity. We use technology to help us understand more about what people eat and how much exercise they do. Wearable devices give us feedback about people’s eating habits and their physical activity. For example, these devices let us test whether sending a prompt encouraging a person not to eat two hours after exercising changes their behaviour. We are also investigating whether providing healthier food options to consumers can influence a change in their diet.

Our team works across greater Bristol and Bradford including local authorities, community groups as well as faith and secular community groups for South Asian girls in the Bradford area in their research. This is to make sure they are reaching the populations we want to target.