Improving health and food insecurity - new UKRI project

Dr Michelle Morris and Prof Mark Gilthorpe are part a national project on Obesity and food insecurity which has recently been awarded a £2M UKRI Transforming Food Systems Grant.

Dr Michelle Morris (Leeds Institute of Medical Research and Leeds Institute for Data Analytics) and Professor Mark Gilthorpe (Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine and Leeds Institute for Data Analytics) will lead the Big Data themed work in this award, in collaboration with Dr Mark Green, Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) colleague from the University of Liverpool.

Obesity levels in the UK represent a key public health issue, with 67% of its population living with overweight or obesity. People living with obesity are more likely to experience a range of health issues including heart conditions, and Type 2 diabetes. They are also more likely to be living in areas of high deprivation. Reducing obesity levels has been a public health priority in the UK for decades and work continues to achieve that reduction.. 

The crucial research, part of 11 UK-wide projects, will investigate consumer habits, covering a broad cross-section of shoppers and will consider how issues around poverty, food insecurity and obesity may affect shopping habits. 

With improved health outcomes and the natural environment at its core, the 3-year study will involve a collaboration for the first time with Sainsbury’s supermarket, one of the UK’s biggest food retailers.
 

Further reading

Read more on this project from UKRI
 

Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash