MRC Epidemiology Unit

Cambridge Festival - Fibre - what gets you going?
2025-03-22 11:00 - 16:30 UTC | Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, Robinson Way, CB2 0SZ, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, United Kingdom
How much fibre is in the food you eat?
In this drop-in interactive Cambridge Festival activity, part of the open day at the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, we’ll invite you to guess the fibre content of a variety of foods.
We will explain why dietary fibre is important for health, and how scientists at the MRC Epidemiology Unit measure how much fibre people in the UK are eating, as part of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
We’ll also bring our Fortune Telling Molecules activity, where you can pick five cards, spin the wheel, and find out how analysing the fat molecules circulating in the bloodstream can help predict the risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Cambridge Festival - Promoting Play in Preschoolers, why it matters for health and wellbeing
2025-03-25 20:00 - 21:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
This talk has been cancelled by Dr Hesketh due to unforseen circumstances.

Play is protected as a fundamental right for children by the United Nations (Convention on the Rights of the Child), but children in recent years are spending less time playing and more times with screens.
The types of play children engage in changes as they grow, and in this online talk Dr Kathryn Hesketh will focus on play during the preschool period (0-5 years) including recent findings from her research. She will explore the different types of play children engage in, and how play is linked to young children’s health, development and wellbeing.
She will also discuss how we can support play for our preschoolers, through fun and games for families.
Unfortunately Dr Hesketh has had to cancel this talk due to unforseen circumstances.

Cambridge Festival - What does research tell us about maintaining a healthy weight?
2025-04-03 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
Live NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) webinar for the Cambridge Festival: What does research tell us about maintaining a healthy weight?
Have you ever wondered why some people have a large appetite and never gain weight, while others try to eat healthily but find it difficult to lose the pounds? Can health research unlock the secrets on to how to maintain a healthy weight?
Being overweight is a major health problem in the UK, it is estimated 1 in every 4 adults and around 1 in every 5 children aged 10 to 11 are living with obesity. It can lead to health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, problems with bone health and can increase the risk of some cancers.
Cambridge researchers are working to understanding how overweight affects our health and how we can maintain a healthy balance.
Hear from Professor Nick Wareham, Director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit, Co-Director of the Institute of Metabolic Science, Honorary Consultant at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge and Dr Amy Ahern, Programme leader & Principal research associate for the prevention of diabetes and related metabolic disorders in high-risk groups. The speakers will discuss their latest research, and you will have a chance to put your questions to the team.
Professor Miles Parkes, Director of the NIHR Cambridge BRC will open the event and will give an overview of how research takes shape on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
This talk is aged for 16+ and all are welcome.
Registration is required, book a free ticket online.

Webinar: Customising Intake24 for your dietary intake research
2025-10-08 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Paris) | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the webinar:
Customising Intake24 for your dietary intake research
Wednesday 8 October, 1 PM – 2 PM (UK)
Watch a recording of the webinar (YouTube)
About this webinar
Intake24 is an online, automated dietary recall tool, currently used in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Intake24 has been through a programme of updates to enable easier customisation for research projects and surveys.
In this webinar Polly Page and Toni Steer, along with other members of the Cambridge Intake24 team, will showcase features of the updated version of Intake24 and, using some recent real life projects as case studies, demonstrate what kinds of customisation are possible.
This seminar is aimed at those who are interested in adapting and using Intake24 in their research or survey programmes.
Registration (free) is required: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/S8ZEmHkdRZC8uBXjce9-jw
Intake24 was originally developed by Newcastle University, initially with funding from Food Standards Scotland and is licenced under the Open Government Licence. Intake24 is developed and maintained by Cambridge and Monash Universities.
