MRC Epidemiology Unit
The latest news from the MRC Epidemiology Unit
Welcome to the spring 2024 issue of epigram, the quarterly newsletter from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge.
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In this issue: how rare gene variants point to a new biological mechanism for regulating appetite control, the impact of school uniform policies on physical activity, using AI to explore our food environment, what a mobile app can tell us about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health behaviours, and more.
Uncovering new biology of appetite control
Rare gene variants identified which increase obesity risk by up to 6-fold
A study co-led by scientists at the MRC Epidemiology Unit and MRC Metabolic diseases Unit has identified genetic variants in two genes – BSN and APBA1 – that have some of the largest impacts on obesity risk discovered to date.
The reasons why some people are more prone to weight gain are incompletely understood, though previous research has identified several obesity-associated gene variants conferring large effects from childhood. These act through a process in the brain known as the leptin-melanocortin pathway, which plays a key role in appetite regulation.
However, while both the BSN and APBA1 genes encode proteins found in the brain, they are not currently known to be involved in the leptin-melanocortin pathway. In addition, unlike the obesity genes previously identified, variants in BSN and APBA1 are not associated with childhood obesity.
This has led the researchers to believe that they may have uncovered a new biological mechanism for obesity, different to those we already know for previously identified obesity gene variants. By shedding light on previously unrecognised aspects the neural biology of obesity, this discovery may in future help scientists to identify new drug targets to treat obesity. Read more.
This paper was reported in several national and international news outlets, including the Independent, Daily Mail, Times, Forbes, Evening Standard, Bloomberg and Telegraph.
Do school uniforms discourage physical activity?
Study in 135 countries finds school uniform policies linked to students getting less exercise
A study in over 1 million 5-to-17-year-olds across 135 countries finds that school uniform policies could be restricting young people from being active, particularly primary school-aged girls. The World Health Organization recommends children should get at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day. Many children don’t meet this target, and regardless of uniform policies, across most countries fewer girls than boys do.
The researchers led by Dr Mairead Ryan found that in primary school students the gap in activity between girls and boys was wider in countries where most schools mandated uniforms (9.8%) than those that didn’t (5.5%). The same result was not found in secondary school-aged students.
They suggest this may be because younger children get more incidental exercise such as running and climbing throughout the school day than older students. Girls may feel less comfortable engaging in such active play when wearing uniforms such as skirts or dresses. The researchers say that there is now enough evidence to warrant further investigation into whether or not school uniform policies contribute to lower activity levels. Read more.
This research was reported in numerous news outlets, including the Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, New Scientist and BBC online.
Exploring our food environment
Our researchers are discovering how our food environment influences our eating behaviour and our health, and evaluate interventions that can make our neighbourhoods healthier.
AI predicts healthiness of food menus
The Guardian reported how Unit PhD student Yuru Huang and colleagues used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the healthiness of cafe, takeaway and restaurant menus at outlets across Britain.
Earlier research has shown that the more an individual eats food prepared out of home,the poorer the quality of their diet and the higher their body weight. In the UK more deprived neighbourhoods also tend to have more fast food outlets. Some outlets will have healthier menus than others, but little is known about whether there are differences between neighbourhoods in their healthiness.
Huang and colleagues used an AI ‘deep learning’ model, trained on a subset of JustEat data, to predict menu healthiness of every out-of-home food outlet in Britain. To demonstrate that the model works they didn’t just test it against another set of JustEat data, but also checked it against real menus from outlets in Cambridge and Peterborough.
The predicted menu healthiness score for almost 190,000 food outlets enabled them to map UK local authorities with the most & least healthy food environments, and identify a “double burden” of unhealthy food faced by people living in more deprived areas. Read more.
Stories from a Changing Food System: Change Kitchen
The Mandala Consortium, led by Professor Martin White, is conducting a range of research projects across Birmingham to investigate how the food system is changing right now, and how it could change in the future.
These projects will be explored through a series of short films – Stories from a Changing Food System – produced by Good Stories in Food.
The first of these films profiles research with Change Kitchen, a social enterprise in Balsall Heath, Birmingham which is aiming to provide healthy, sustainable and affordable vegetarian food. Read more.
Research study news
Fenland Covid-19 Study mobile app helps uncover long term effects on health behaviours
Four years on since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, research from the Fenland COVID-19 study and the main Fenland Study is helping us discover more about the impact of the pandemic and its long term effects on health behaviours.
The pandemic and related restrictions had an impact on everyday life including how active people were, their diets, alcohol consumption, sleep and smoking.
Researchers compared measures of these behaviours taken in the years before the pandemic (2005-2020) with those taken with a mobile app during the pandemic. They found that that on average participants slept about 15 minutes more per night, did nearly a fifth less physical activity, and ate 12% fewer fruits and vegetables.
The findings highlighted the unequal impact of the pandemic and associated restrictions, as diet and physical activity decreases were much larger among participants living in poorer areas of Cambridgeshire compared to those living in more affluent areas. The reductions were also greater for women compared to men, and in both sexes those over 60 years old showed greater decreases in physical activity compared to younger age groups. Read more.
DEBEAT study recruits 1,500 school and college students
The Diet and Eating Behaviours Across Early Adulthood Transitions (DEBEAT) study has completed recruitment with 1,500 students in their final year of secondary education recruited.
Early adulthood is when overweight and obesity prevalence rises the fastest, and it is also a time of rapid personal change in living arrangements, education and occupational status, and relationships. By investigating changes in diet across the transition from school or college to further education or employment, the DEBEAT study seeks to understand better how changes to the social, physical and economic environments of young adults influences the development of diet and dietary behaviours.
Since recruitment started in September 2023, 89 schools, representing almost every county in England, have helped us to involve their students in DEBEAT. Over 12 months the participants will each complete three Intake24 dietary recalls, and four short questionnaires about dietary determinants.
DEBEAT Principal Investigator Dr Eleanor Winpenny comments:
“We’re really grateful to everyone who took part in the first wave of the DEBEAT study. We’re looking forward to exploring the data they have provided on their diets, and studying the influence of their home, school, neighbourhood, and – for some – workplace environments on their dietary behaviours and diet quality.
We’ll be going back to our participants from September this year, to find out how their environments and diets have changed after they have finished their final year of school.”
Research innovation and partnership
Our scientists use a wide range of research techniques to understand the complex interplay of factors that influence our health, and are continually innovating new approaches.
Professor Nick Wareham to lead new national research network for population health
The Director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit Professor Nick Wareham has been appointed to a part time role as Director of the newly launched Population Health Improvement UK (PHI-UK).
This new national research network, established with a £35 million investment over four years from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will bring together expertise and insight from across research, public health and community organisations.
PHI-UK aims to find innovative and inclusive ways to improve the health of people, places and communities and reduce health inequalities through the development and evaluation of long-lasting and environmentally sustainable interventions.
Priority research areas include creating healthy urban spaces, supporting mental health and wellbeing, understanding and addressing the negative health effects of commercial products and practices, and enhancing our modelling capabilities to address urgent policy and economic challenges. Read more.
HERA study to better understand women’s reproductive health receives £5.6 million Wellcome award
On International Women’s Day it was announced that the Healthy Reproductive Ageing (HERA) study has been awarded a £5.6 million Wellcome Discovery Award.
Reproductive ageing in women is critical for fertility, and has profound influences more broadly on health and wellbeing. Recent research led by Unit researchers has identified genetic risk factors for a range of conditions, including polycystic ovary syndrome, premature ovarian ageing (early age at menopause) and fertility. However, our understanding of the biological processes underpinning female reproductive health is still limited.
HERA, which is co-led by Unit scientist Professor John Perry, will take a multi-disciplinary approach to build on the earlier genomic research, including the creation of cellular models that will help accelerate our understanding of ovarian health and function. Read more.
Our latest publications
Our commitment to Open Access
The MRC Epidemiology Unit is committed to Open Access and to making our research more accessible, equitable, transparent and reproducible.
We aim for all MRC Epidemiology Unit-led papers to be fully available through Open Access as we continue to break down any barriers to knowledge.
New publications
You can find all publications from the MRC Epidemiology Unit on our Publications Database: https://publications.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/
You can search by journal, year, study, programme, Unit author, and keywords in the title and abstract.
Since the last issue of epigram, our researchers have published the following papers:
- Genetic determinants of micronucleus formation in vivo. Adams DJ et al. Nature
- Impacts of active travel interventions on travel behaviour and health: Results from a five-year longitudinal travel survey in Outer London. Aldred R et al. J Transp Health
- Association of insulin resistance with the accumulation of saturated IMCL: a comparison with other fat stores. Azhar M et al. NMR Biomed
- Impact of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy on health and health inequalities in children and adolescents in England: an interrupted time series analysis and population health modelling study. Cobiac LJ et al. PLoS Med
- The effectiveness of pharmacological and lifestyle interventions to reduce the risk of diabetes and hyperglycaemia following gestational diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Dennison RA et al. Diabet Med
- Dual glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucagon receptor agonism reduces energy intake in type 2 diabetes with obesity. Golubic R et al. Diabetes Obes Metab
- Accumulating Sedentary Time and Physical Activity From Childhood to Adolescence and Cardiac Function in Adolescence. Haapala EA et al. J Am Heart Assoc
- Perception and Reality: the Mismatch between Absolute and Relative Physical Activity Intensity during Pregnancy and Postpartum in United States Women. Hesketh KR et al. Prev Med
- Changes in UK price disparities between healthy and less healthy foods over 10 years: An updated analysis with insights in the context of inflationary increases in the cost-of-living from 2021. Hoenink JC et al. Appetite
- Development and application of the Depth framework for categorising the agentic demands of population health interventions. Garrott K et al. BMC Glob Public Health
- Dementias Platform UK: Bringing genetics into life. Leonenko G et al. Alzheimers Dement
- The feasibility of population screening for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using handheld ECGs. Mant J et al. Eurospace
- Wellbeing Impact Study of High-Speed 2 (WISH2): Protocol for a mixed-methods examination of the impact of major transport infrastructure development on mental health and wellbeing. Morley KI et al. PLoS One
- Unveiling the drivers of modal switch from motorcycles to public transport in Southeast Asia. Nguyen ST et al. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
- Applying a Bayesian network for modelling the shift from motorcycle to public transport use in Vietnam Nguyen. ST et al. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
- The Superblock model: A review of an innovative urban model for sustainability, liveability, health and well-being. Nieuwenhuijsen M et al. Environ Res
- Consolidated guidance for behavioral intervention pilot and feasibility studies. Pfledderer CD et al. Pilot Feasibility Stud
- Systemic proteome adaptions to 7-day complete caloric restriction in humans. Pietzner M et al. Nat Metab
- Changes in the number of new takeaway food outlets associated with adoption of management zones around schools: a natural experimental evaluation in England. Rahilly J et al. SSM Pop Health
- Changes in the number and outcome of takeaway food outlet planning applications in response to adoption of management zones around schools in England: a time series analysis. Rahilly J et al. Health Place
- Are school uniforms associated with gender inequalities in physical activity? A pooled analysis of population-level data from 135 countries. Ryan M et al. J Sport Health Sci
- Multi-ancestry polygenic mechanisms of type 2 diabetes. Smith K et al. Nat Med
- Prevalence of loneliness and associations with health behaviours and body mass index in 5835 people living with and beyond cancer: a cross-sectional study. Smith S et al. BMC Public Health
- A predictive model for thiamine responsive disorders among infants and young children: results from a prospective cohort study in Lao PDR. Smith TJ et al. J Pediatr
- Integrative genomic analyses identify candidate causal genes for calcific aortic valve stenosis involving tissue-specific regulation. Thériault S et al. Nat Commun
- Multisectoral interventions for urban health in Africa: a mixed-methods systematic review. Thondoo M et al. Glob Health Action
- Is rest-activity rhythm prospectively associated with all-cause mortality in older people regardless of sleep and physical activity level? The ‘Como Vai?’ Cohort Study. Wendt A et al. PLoS One
- Health inequalities in Brazilian adolescents: Measuring and mapping gaps in a cross-sectional school-based survey. Wendt A et al. Health Sci Rep
- A self-paced walk test for individual calibration of heart rate to energy expenditure. Westgate K et al. J Meas Phys Behav
- Smokeless and combustible tobacco use among 148,944 South Asian adults: a cross-sectional study of South Asia Biobank. Xie W et al. BMC Public Health
- Association Between Household Online Grocery Delivery Service Use and Food and Drink Purchase Behavior in England: Cross-Sectional Analysis. Yau A et al. JMIR Public Health Surveill
- Mendelian randomization identifies circulating proteins as biomarkers for age at menarche and age at natural menopause. Yazdanpanah N et al. Commun Biol
- Prospective associations between changes in physical activity and sedentary time and subsequent lean muscle mass in older English adults: the EPIC-Norfolk cohort study. Yerrakalva D et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act
- The association between patterns of weight change, diabetes status and glycaemia among adults with overweight and obesity. Yin R et al. Diabetes Res Clin Pract
- Protein-truncating variants in BSN are associated with severe adult-onset obesity, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. Zhao Y et al. Nat Genet
- Dietary intake of plant- and animal-derived protein and incident cardiovascular diseases: the pan-European EPIC-CVD case-cohort study. Zheng JS et al. Am J Clin Nutr
About epigram
epigram is the newsletter for everyone interested in work happening at the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge.
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