Category Archives: CHEFS

Suzanne Zaremba (Lecturer in Nutrition, Centre for Public Health Nutrition Research, University of Dundee) and Miriam Clegg (Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading) have recently published a thought-provoking article in The Conversation highlighting the paucity of studies linking appetite measures to weight control endpoints and the need for more research in older adults.  This article has also been picked up by The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/health-and-wellbeing/diet-nutrition-satiety-hunger-body-mind-a9453641.html

You may remember Miriam from our launch event.

The Healthy Weight and Physical Activity Community of Improvement YH will soon be starting work on a project with ‘Sustain’ to test the advertising restrictions policy developed by the Mayor of London’s office and Transport for London.

They are seeking an evaluation partner to work with them to assess the impact of providing a regional approach to the reduction of exposure to foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS foods). Although funding has not yet been secured to support the evaluation, PHE would be keen to work with the evaluation partner to identify potential sources of funding.

Approximate project timeline:

January funding granted
February initial audit of council policies and contracts to provide baseline information for project.
February/ March identify evaluation partner and secure funding for evaluation
April/ May- CoI meeting for background to project and briefing for how LAs are going to be involved and how to start collecting the evidence
May- September LAs start collecting information eg detailed policies and contract information; photographs to make the case for implementing policy changes
October – Sustain start project implementation work with local authorities

Further information

If you would like further information. please contact

Nicola Corrigan Health and Wellbeing Programme Manager (Healthy Weight & Physical Activity)
Public Health England. Tel: 0113 8557289 Mob: 07584 336 319. nicola.corrigan@phe.gov.uk

Background to the project

The Yorkshire & Humber Association of Directors of Public Health (Y&H ADPH) Network have agreed to support an advocacy project from the Healthy Weight and Physical Activity Community of Improvement (HW&PA CoI).  This provides a regional approach to the reduction of exposure to foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS foods).  It also supports the 7th commitment in the Local Authority Declaration on Healthy Weight (LADHW) commitment to:

‘protect our children from inappropriate marketing by the food and drink industry such as advertising and marketing in close proximity to schools; ‘giveaways’ and promotions within schools; at events on local authority controlled sites’

A high profile restriction on HFSS food advertising has been put in place by Transport for London (TfL) supported by the charity Sustain, who assisted in the development and implementation of the policy with the Mayor of London’s office.

By working with Sustain the Y&H ADPH Network will get the best learning and practice in relation to this emerging area of policy development and implementation.  Sustain would provide bespoke support to the Y&H region to replicate the TfL approach, which would include:

• A workshop with members of PHE’s Yorkshire and the Humber food subgroup to support interest, adoption and implementation across council advertising spaces
• Support to explore or implement an equivalent advertising policy across the Yorkshire and the Humber transport networks
• Support 2 (new) Yorkshire and the Humber councils to adopt an equivalent advertising policy
• End of project progress report to PHE Yorkshire and the Humber
• Short briefing paper on learning/recommendations from programme (public)

Broom et al’s paper – ‘Acute effect of exercise intensity and duration on acylated ghrelin and hunger in men’ was the Journal of Endocrinology’s highest downloaded non – gold open access paper in 2017. It has now been acknowledged as one of the journals most highly citied in 2019.

Broom’s previous work showed that acute exercise transiently suppresses the orexigenic (appetite stimulating) gut hormone acylated ghrelin, but the extent to which exercise intensity and duration determine this response was not fully understood.

The effects of manipulating exercise intensity and duration on acylated ghrelin concentrations and hunger were therefore examined in two experiments.

In experiment A, nine healthy males completed three conditions being 1) resting control, 2) moderate-intensity running and 3) vigorous-intensity running.

In experiment B, nine healthy males completed three conditions being 1) resting control, 2) 45-min running and 3) 90-min running.

In both experiments, participants consumed standardised meals, and acylated ghrelin concentrations and hunger were measured throughout.

In experiment A, acylated ghrelin concentrations were lower than resting control in both running conditions and to a greater extent in the vigorous-intensity running condition. In experiment B, acylated ghrelin concentrations were lower than control in both running conditions. Hunger ratings were lower for longer after 90 minutes of running.

Exercise intensity and duration are key determinants of the acylated ghrelin response to acute exercise with a clear dose response effect. The higher the intensity and the longer the duration the greater the suppression of hunger and acylated ghrelin.

Research in this area is needed to identify effective doses of exercise to encourage weight loss and maintenance.

This work was in collaboration with academics from Loughborough University. We have recently submitted a paper examining swimming as a mode of physical activity which anecdotally increases hunger. Findings to follow once published.