Government obesity policies in England over the past three decades have largely failed because of problems with implementation, lack of learning from past successes or failures, and a reliance on trying to persuade individuals to change their behaviour rather than tackling unhealthy environments. This is the conclusion of new research by a team at the […]

An international team led by researchers at the MRC Epidemiology Unit has used a cross-platform approach across several large human studies to identify hundreds of novel genetic variants that regulate metabolite levels in the blood. Human metabolism exchanges and converts small molecules, so called metabolites, to provide energy and essential components for each cell in […]

The MRC Epidemiology Unit is leading one of four multi-million pound interdisciplinary research programmes awarded funding to support the transformation of the UK food system. The research is being funded through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF). Each of the five-year programmes will address issues such as obesity, sustainable agriculture and […]

In this article for The Conversation, Dr Jean Strelitz discuss research showing how advising weight loss to all people with type 2 diabetes may not be the best approach. People with type 2 diabetes are often encouraged to lose weight, as this can help return their blood sugar to normal levels. But few studies have […]

An international consortium led by MRC researchers has developed an open access platform to help prioritise drug discovery and repurposing efforts for the current COVID-19 pandemic. The platform provides information on the genetic variation of host proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection, based on analysis of genetic and proteomic data from 10,708 Fenland Study participants. Viruses such […]

Today Public Health England (PHE) have published the latest report from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (NDNS RP), which covers years 9 to 11 (2016-2019). The NDNS RP is a continuous cross-sectional survey of the general population aged 1.5 years and over living in private households in the UK, that has […]

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has just announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the MC4R agonist, IMCIVREE™ (setmelanotide) for chronic weight management in adult and paediatric patients 6 years of age and older with obesity due to proopiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 (PCSK1), or leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency. This is great […]

In a paper published in Diabetes Care, a research team led by scientists at the MRC Epidemiology Unit and the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University in Denmark found that replacing red and processed meat with cheese, yogurt, nuts or cereals was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Many dietary guidelines […]

Congratulations to Dr Hisham Ziauddeen on being announced as Psychiatric Communicator of the Year in the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Awards. Hisham is a consultant psychiatrist in early intervention at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust and a Senior Research Associate working with Professor Paul Fletcher at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science. He is […]

Opportunities for PhD studentships are available at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. The studentships enable students to explore and develop their own area of research, within the context of the broader aims of: Understanding the determinants of dietary and physical activity behaviour at individual, community and societal levels. Developing, evaluating and modelling the […]