Human Nutrition and Exercise Research Centre

• Roles in the pathogenesis of disease
• Altered metabolism and disease 
• Behaviour change in at-risk and clinical groups 
• Underpinning science for clinical nutrex interventions 

• Dietetics 
• Patient and HCP choices and information 
• Therapeutic interventions and management of conditions 
• Secondary prevention 

• Sustainability
• Policy and regulation 
• School and workplace nutrition
• Physical activity interventions 
• Nutrition guidelines 
• Assessment guidelines 

• Metabolism
• Appetite control
• Behavior and choice architecture 
• Nutrition-Exercise interaction
• Sport/Performance nutrition

• Formulation/Food science
• Bioavailability
• Sustainability
• Food Industry Partnerships
• Food production 

DiRECT

The DiRECT study (Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial) has been hugely influential in demonstrating that weight loss through diet can cause long-term remission of type 2 diabetes. Led by Newcastle University’s Professor Roy Taylor, and including other HNERC researchers such as Prof. Ashley Adamson and Prof. John Mathers, this trial demonstrated diabetes remission in around half of the study participants 1 year post intervention and around a third of participants after 2 years. The intervention involves total diet replacement (825–853 kcal/day formula diet for 3–5 months), stepped food reintroduction (2–8 weeks), and structured support for long-term weight loss maintenance. Longer term data collection is ongoing, and the intervention is now becoming widely available across the UK.

CAPP2

The CAPP2 (Colorectal Adenoma/carcinoma Prevention Programme) study included Newcastle researchers Prof. John Mathers and Prof. Sir John Burn, alongside Prof. Tim Bishop (University of Leeds). It randomised 861 individuals who were carriers of hereditary cancer, Lynch syndrome, to receive 600 mg aspirin (equivalent to two standard aspirins per day), 30 g resistant starch (equivalent to around 1 green banana per day), or both for a 2.5 year period. Although there was no short-term effect at the end of intervention, there was a significant protective effect of the aspirin 5 and 10 years after commencing the intervention. In addition, long-term follow-up of participants in the CAPP2 Study showed that those randomised to receive resistant starch had significantly lower risk of other cancers, especially cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The CAPP2 study findings have been used by NICE in producing guidance for patients with Lynch syndrome.

Food4Me

The Food4Me study is one of the most influential personalised nutrition investigations conducted to date, and was led by Prof. John Mathers of the HNERC. This 6 month, four-arm, internet-based randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2012 -2014 and compared the effects of general versus personalised advice on dietary and other lifestyle behaviours. Compared with generalised nutritional advice, personalised nutrition advice based on an evaluation of current individual dietary intake was more effective at improving dietary behaviours. However, the addition of phenotypic or phenotypic plus genotypic information (on top of guidance provided based on current dietary intake) did not further enhance the effectiveness of the intervention. The Food4Me study has produced around 50 peer-reviewed publications to date.

Sunshine Eggs

The Sunshine Eggs project was launched in 2015 and funded by a grant from Innovate UK. This project, which was led by Prof. Tom Hill, and working closely with Noble Foods Ltd and DSM Nutrition Products Ltd, demonstrated that providing flocks of commercial hens with vitamin D enriched feed for 6 weeks improved the total vitamin D content of their eggs by 40%. This work informed the reformulation of the UK’s leading free-range egg brand ‘Happy Egg’ to offer vitamin-D enriched eggs for purchase by the general public. Find out more information including the overview and key outcomes of this project.

WholeHeart and wholegrain research

The HNERC is recognized as a world-leader for its work on understanding the health benefits of dietary whole grain, led by Emeritus Professor Chris Seal. The work encompassed a number of key dietary intervention studies carried out in collaboration with colleagues in Cambridge and Aberdeen with funding from the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health, along with support from cereal-manufacturing food companies. 

The first of these, the WholeHeart Study, is still the largest whole-grain intervention study worldwide and showcased the HNERC’s excellence in carrying out food-based dietary interventions. Although the effects of increasing consumption of whole grain on cardiometabolic health markers were small, the study highlighted the need for better controlled and longer studies in the future. The intervention studies were underpinned by developing methods to quantify accurately whole-grain intake. We developed and published tables of whole-grain content of foods which are being replicated in Australia and the US. 

Recent work has focused on promoting and developing global definitions for whole grain and whole-grain foods, with the hope that implementing these will raise the profile of whole grain and help the consumer choose whole-grain foods to improve food quality and decrease disease risk. 

NuBrain

Given the mounting social and economic pressure of dementia, there is growing interest in strategies to help facilitate healthy brain ageing in the general population. 

The NuBrain consortium, led by Prof. Emma Stevenson (Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences) and funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), was established in 2020 to build a sustainable, internationally field-leading consortium in the area of nutrition and brain health. 

NuBrain focuses on addressing some of the fundamental research challenges in the area of nutrition and brain ageing, and has brought together researchers from Newcastle (Professor Emma Stevenson, Professor Tom Hill, Professor Ashley Adamson, Professor Falko Sniehotta, and Dr. Oliver Shannon), Edinburgh (including Professor Craig Ritchie, Dr. Graciela Muniz-Tererra, and Dr. Sarah Gregory), University of East Anglia (Professor Anne Marie Minihane), and the University of Manchester (Professor Alistair Burns). Find out more information on the NuBrain consortium.