The Nutrients and health group focuses on understanding the influence of nutrient intake on growth, metabolism, and physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan, in order to design effective and sustainable strategies to improve health.
Our group has expertise in dietary assessment methods, nutritional biomarkers, nutritional epidemiology, clinical trials and interventions.
Our research includes the assessment of dietary intake to characterise nutrient intakes and nutritional status of different population groups across the lifespan, as well as exploring determinants of nutrient intake to design and evaluate strategies to improve diets. Our group also conducts interventions to alter nutrient intakes to assess effects on health outcomes, ranging from laboratory-based clinical trials to community-based interventions.
This group covers:
- Investigating the intake and status of micronutrients across the lifespan, in particular iron, selenium, zinc, iodine, sodium (salt), vitamin D and vitamin A
- Investigating the effects of macronutrients on human energy intake and expenditure, and their impact on body weight, body composition and metabolic health
- Monitoring the availability of macronutrients and micronutrients within the food supply and population intakes
- Exploring the relationship between nutrients and health outcomes such as growth, cognition, mental health, cardiovascular health, obesity and neurological disorders
- Monitoring salt intakes and developing interventions to help children and adults reduce salt intake to improve future health
- Designing and evaluating interventions to improve micronutrient intakes and related health outcomes.