Research
Outcomes
The ultimate goal of our research is that its results are translated to influence policies and practice in public health, particularly with respect to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Some examples of how our work has done this are described on this page.
Top-Grub Game
As part of the efforts to enhance nutritional awareness, Dr Raj Lakshman of the MRC Epidemiology Unit devised a card-game ("Top-Grub") for primary school children. Using a game format, this teaches them about the nutritional content of commonly eaten foods. "Top-Grub" has been awarded both a regional and national prize for innovation in the NHS.
Influencing Guidelines
Our publication on the threshold for diagnosing impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (Forouhi et al, Diabetologia 2007) has contributed to decisions by the World Health Organization. This has led to the threshold for IFG being left at 6.1 mmol/l rather than lowered to 5.5 mmol/l as recommended by the American Diabetes Association. Our suggestion that international bodies should review the justification for treating non-diabetic hyperglycaemia as a category rather than as a continuum has been taken up by three major bodies; the International Diabetes Federation, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the American Diabetes Association.
Our papers on the relationship between Hba1c and cardiovascular risk in non-diabetic individuals in EPIC is a critical contributor to the debate by the International Diabetes Federation, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the American Diabetes Association about the redefinition of diabetes based on Hba1c measurement (Khaw et al, Annals of Internal Medicine 2004).
