Living in a greener neighbourhood may protect us from developing cardiovascular disease

Read my full study here.

The use of digital screens for road safety campaigns

Here’s the first bit of publicity from my most recent paper!
 

Exposure to digital signage was ineffective in increasing road safety awareness☹️https://t.co/ITxqJYFT9E

— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) January 9, 2020

Read my full study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2019.12.005

‘Digital screen use for a road safety campaign message was not associated with road safety awareness of passers-by: A quasi-experimental study’

 

Neighbourhood greenspace is associated with reduced risk of diabetes in older people. Why…?

Residential neighbourhood greenspace is associated with reduced risk of incident diabetes in older people. Read my paper here. This association is not due to physical activity or socio-economic differences. So what’s the causal link?

Neighbourhood greenspace is associated with a slower decline in physical activity in older adults. Why…?

Older people living in greener areas stay more active as they age. Is this because they’re out walking their dogs? Maybe. Take a look at what I found in a recent study here.

Is social prescribing the way forward to relieve pressure on primary care and reduce health inequalities?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-37184455

Tree loss = increased cardiovascular disease, but why?

This research paper found that tree loss resulted in a 25% increase in cardiovascular disease incidence among over 100,000 women in the US. It’s not due to the mechanism of reduced exercise, so whats happening? Other suggested mechanisms could be air pollution, stress and social connections.It may also be due to the ‘old friends’ hypothesis that organisms are good for our immune system, as suggested by Grham Rook at UCL in his paper of two years ago. This is something that UEA student Caoimhe is investigating for her PhD @CaoimheBennett.

An easy way to up your physical activity without going to the gym…

An easy way to up your #physicalactivity without going to the gym: add a bit of walking/cycling to your comute! Our recently published paper shows that even short, active components of commuting journeys may be beneficial. We studied commuters in Cambridge using GPS, heart rate & movement sensors.

Return to work post-baby!

This week sees my return to work after ten months of maternity leave. I look forward to getting my teeth back in to work, including revising my paper regarding diabetes incidence in older people and greenspace exposure in the home neighbourhood, and finalising some analysis into the use of synthetic measures to model obesity prevalence. Watch this space…!

Busy times at CEDAR

The Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at the University of Cambridge had a very busy September! A new Lead for Research in Dietary Behaviours and Public Health Interventions – Martin White – has been appointed, and Adam Martin from UEA has been a global media sensation, talking about his research into commuting behaviour and well-being. We’re now looking forward to the ‘Neighbourhood food environments, diet and health meeting‘ in November. Have a look at our news and events page to keep up to date with the latest happenings.

Twelve tips on how to not get your paper published!

A flippantly serious view on the steps to take to make sure your paper is not accepted for publishing, published here. Insufficient theory, an incomplete literature review, nationally (not internationally) significant findings, salami-slicing, limited stats and ‘self-serving platitudes’ are apparently not the best way to go…