Dietetics, Nutrition and Biological Sciences

Food Choice and Public Health Nutrition

Key Aims

Research in this group comprises a mixture of fundamental and applied research. The fundamental research (food choice research) attempts to elucidate the underlying determinants of food choice in order to understand how food choice behaviour can be improved. The applied research (public health nutrition research) is concerned with developing and evaluating the efficacy of practical methodologies and strategies suitable for use in public health nutrition.

Food Choice

Kirk and co-workers have conducted a number of studies to investigate the barriers and facilitators determining healthy food choice decisions. This includes work on the determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption (PhD), the determinants of starchy food consumption (PhD) and on the role of nutritional labelling informing food purchase choices (PhD).

Public health nutrition

This group are attempting to identify effective strategies for obesity prevention at the public health level. . They have produced a substantial body of evidence that increasing carbohydrate intake results in sustainable dietary fat reduction and improved body weight control. Kirk, with the support of contract staff, conducts research into the influence of eating frequency on energy balance and body weight control. Drummond has demonstrated that a pattern of frequent eating improves appetite control and appears to work synergistically with physical activity in helping to prevent obesity. Drummond is also active in the the assessment of dietary strategies for weight loss in sedentary populations. Recently a 3-centred trial (Edinburgh, London & Birmingham) has been completed which investigated the role of sucrose containing foods in adherence to low fat, energy restricted diets where dietary restraint and quality of life was also assessed.

(More information to follow - page still under construction.)