MRC Epidemiology Unit
Less than half of mums meet the recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity – and mothers of younger children manage to do the least, Cambridge and Southampton researchers have found. Physical activity – particularly when it is moderate to vigorous – has many health benefits, decreasing the risk of a wide range of diseases from […]
Poor professional development may explain failure of push to promote physical health in primary schools
The government’s £320 million drive to help primary schools promote children’s physical health is in danger of failing because most of the teacher development it funds is ineffective, new research on similar initiatives suggests. Researchers at the University of Cambridge examined the training given to teachers who are charged with implementing new schemes of work […]
What makes an effective staff training programme for school-based physical activity promotion?
A systematic review and meta-analysis published recently in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity evaluated staff training within school-based physical activity promotion interventions and examined the association between training features, teachers’ professional practice, and changes to students’ physical activity. Why school-based physical activity promotion needs improvement The majority of children and adolescents worldwide […]
Nearly half of six-year-olds in Britain don’t meet daily physical activity guidelines
Only fifty-three percent of six-year-olds, and just forty-two percent of girls, met the recommended daily guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in a study carried out before the Covid-19 pandemic by researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Southampton. Physical activity is beneficial for our physical and mental health, but activity levels tend to decrease across […]
Early adulthood education and employment experiences play independent role in later life cardiovascular health
New research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found that education and employment experiences in early adulthood contribute to cardiovascular health inequalities in later life, independent of occupation and family income in mid-adulthood. There are important differences in health between different sectors of our society, with those who are less […]
Unit researchers contribute to Lancet series highlighting need to improve physical activity worldwide
Researchers at the MRC Epidemiology Unit are among scientists from across the world contributing to The Lancet 2021 series on physical activity. Key findings revealed in the series include: Worldwide progress to improve physical activity has stalled; overall deaths associated with inactivity remain at more than 5 million people per year. No progress has been […]
Becoming less active and gaining weight: downsides of becoming an adult revealed in scientific reviews
Leaving school and getting a job both lead to a drop in the amount of physical activity, while becoming a mother is linked to increased weight gain, conclude two reviews published today and led by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Many people tend to put on weight as they leave adolescence and move into […]
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds and certain ethnic minorities do less vigorous physical activity
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds and certain ethnic minority backgrounds, including from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds, have lower levels of vigorous physical activity, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. The patterns mirror inequalities seen in levels of childhood obesity, suggesting a need for a greater focus on the promotion of vigorous physical activity, particularly […]
Physical activity programmes in schools aren’t working – here’s why
Rebecca Love, PhD student at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, writes in The Conversation about the lack of success in efforts to help children be more active at school. A third of children in the UK are overweight or obese by the time they reach primary school. Many other countries are facing the same issue, with […]
Obesity prevention: Learning to do no harm – 2018 Max Perutz Science Prize article
This article by Sonja Klingberg, a PhD student in the Unit’s Behavioural Epidemiology programme, was shortlisted for the 2018 Max Perutz Science Writing Award. You can read all the shortlisted and winning articles here. “Our daughter doesn’t usually eat this for breakfast,” said the woman across the table from me. We were having breakfast together […]